If We Ever Meet Again
by lokalara
Summary: 16 year old Ryan Wolfe meets the girl of his dreams on vacation,only he never sees her again after a few magical weeks. Now 16 years later they meet again, but she is not alone.
1. Do it all Over Again

A/N: Just giving some thanks to ballistics belle for letting me borrow her idea of adding a quote or a song at the beginning and for being my beta in this chapter. I really hope you guys like this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of CSI: Miami and no money is being made with this.

Chapter 1: Do it all over again.

_Hands over my head thinking 'what else could go wrong? 'Would've stayed in bed, how can a day be so long? Never believed that things happen for a reason. But how this turned out, you moved all my doubts, oh believe That for you I'll do it all over again Do it all over again All I went through, led me to you  
>So I'd do it all over again For you<em>.

-Again, Bruno Mars

Ryan Wolfe hated vacations. Scratch that, Ryan hated this vacation in particular. His parents had had the brilliant idea to make it a road trip instead of doing it the right way and just taking a plane there like normal families. They all knew how bad his father was at reading directions, but they had insisted that the trip would help them to bond as a family.

Ryan let out a sigh as he continued to listen to his parents argue about how to read a map effectively as they were driving aimlessly looking for the right exit to get off on . He turned to look at his little sister who was enthusiastically bopping her head up and down to the music that was blasting through her head phones. She turned to look at her brother and met him with a smirk that he returned in kind. She slowly took off her head phones and leaned in towards him.

"Should we tell them that we missed the exit about an hour ago?" She asked in a mere whisper.

"Nope, I want to see how far we get before they even realize it." He answered back. "With our luck we might end up in Maui." They both giggled as she put her head phones back on and he returned to peering out the window.

He smiled fondly at his quirky family. His folks were the nerdiest parents any sixteen year old could have. Both his parents were college professors at Boston University. His father, Landon, was a chemistry professor and his mother, Samantha, a math professor, -college algebra to be exact. You could say those were his reasons for the love of both subjects. Ryan thought that when he grew up he was going to be a teacher like them but, somewhere along the lines of his life, law enforcement seemed to peek more of his interest.

Ryan never wished to be an only child, but he preferred not to be an only child with a baby brother, not a baby sister. At first when his baby sister, Alice, was born he had loathed the idea. He was sure that she was going to be a pain in his ass and that she would squeal on him whenever he did something that he wasn't supposed to. Only Alice had turned out to be quite the opposite. She was only four years younger than him and she kept every secret he had. She would even occasionally join in on the mischief.

He was pulled out of his musings by the continued argument between his parents. He sorely wished that he was back home in his room reading his favorite book or playing football with his friends. This was going to be the vacation from hell.

As he continued to look out the window and admiring the scenery, a plus to this godforsaken trip, he managed to catch glimpse of the sign indicating that the exit for Miami was coming up in the next few exits. '_This could be interesting,' _he thought. Maybe it was time to change locations of their yearly family vacation.

"Dad, take the next exit that's coming up."

"Is that our exit?"

"Yeah, yeah, it sure is."

Ryan was grateful that his father wasn't smart enough to read the signs. He thought they were some kind of omen and preferred to be old fashioned and read a map instead. His father may be smart, but he wasn't bright.

Alice leaned over to catch a glance of the sign that was approaching. When she read the billboard she raised a questioning eyebrow at her brother. He raised a finger to his lips, pleading for her silence. She gave him a mischievous smirk while shaking her head back in forth and returned to her own landscape watching.

Ryan's parents finally got some sense and looked up at the signs as they went off on the exit. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe looked at each other simultaneously.

" Uh, son.." Mr. Wolfe started skeptically.

"Yeah dad?" Ryan answered as innocently as possible.

"This exit is to Miami."

"Yeah, I know. I thought that maybe our vacation could use a change." He stated matter of fact. "Besides, you missed our exit about an hour and a half ago."

"We did?"

"Sure did."

"Why didn't you say anything Ryan?" His mother asked slightly confused.

"Because we go to the same place each year. You guys said it yourselves, this is a trip to help us bond, so what better way to bond then exploring a new city together?"

His parents once more looked at each other. For a few seconds they considered the logic to Ryan's proposal and then came to a conclusion.

"You're right honey." Mrs. Wolfe agreed. "This would be a great opportunity to become closer as a family. Don't you agree, Landon?"

"Of course I do sweetheart. Ryan you had a fantastic idea."

Ryan turned to his sister and she gave him a hi-five. Maybe this vacation wasn't going to be so bad after all. This was just getting better and better. Now they knew where they were going and not driving around without a purpose.

They finally made it into the city and quickly tried to find a hotel. It wasn't easy considering that they didn't have any reservations and they were coming on the busiest time of the season. But they managed to find a decent hotel that was not over priced.

They all got out of the car and walked to the reception desk to get a room. Ryan was standing patiently waiting as his parents booked a room for them. As he was waiting he noticed another family come in. They walked up to the reception desk and started talking with the receptionist. The quirky girl seemed to know the family.

The family seemed to be wealthy and that they were part of a high society. His family had money but they were more of the upper-middle class, nothing like this family.

Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. More like someone caught his attention. A young girl with long wavy brunette hair walked into the hotel, pulling her suitcase behind her. She had on a sleeveless white dress that ended just past her knees. In Ryan's eyes she looked like an angel fallen from the heavens above.

"You're drooling."

Ryan pulled himself out of his daydream and turned to face his sister who had the biggest smirk anyone had ever seen.

"Shut up!" Ryan hissed back. "I was not drooling. Was I?"

Alice burst into fits of giggles at the hopeless expression on her brother's face. Ryan narrowed his eyes and glared at her before shoving her, causing her to trip over her suitcase.

"Ryan!" His mother scolded.

"I'm sorry Al. Are you alright?" He asked helping her up off the floor. She glared at him for a few seconds before she smiled at him.

"Yeah I'm alright." Alice nudged Ryan with her elbow and jerked her head in the direction of the other family. "Looks like you caught someone's eye."

He reverted his attention back to the other side of the room and saw that the beautiful girl he was drooling over was staring at him with a smile gracing her features. Ryan instantly felt his cheeks heat up. He couldn't help smile back at her. He just hoped that he didn't look like a complete doofus.

"Ryan lets go. The bell boy is waiting for us."

Ryan immediately obeyed and turned to follow his family to the elevator. He turned to look over his shoulder one last time before he entered the elevator and saw that she was still staring at him. He gave her one last smile as he stepped in and the doors closed behind him.

Once inside their room the Wolfe family started unpacking and getting washed up so that they could go to dinner soon. As Ryan was unpacking his book bag he noticed that he was missing one of his books. He quickly remembered that he had left it in the car.

He grabbed his father's keys and swiftly made his way downstairs. He made a beeline to the parking lot, retrieved his book, and returned to the lobby to take the elevator back to his room.

Only low and behold his angel was waiting to get on the elevator also. His heart started drumming in his chest. He was for sure that he was having a heart attack. Taking a deep breath he slowly approached the elevator and stood next to her. She turned to look at him and smiled, which he returned in kind.

"Hi, I'm Ryan."

"Hi, I'm Allison."

The elevator dinged indicating its arrival and the huge metal doors opened allowing them to enter. They both shyly stepped in and waited for the elevator to get them to their floors.

Ryan had the biggest smile on his face. This was going to be the best vacation ever. He was grateful for taking that wrong turn. Everything happens for a reason.


	2. Only One in This World

A/N: Just giving some thanks to ballistics belle for letting me borrow her idea of adding a quote or a song at the beginning and for being my beta in this chapter. I really hope you guys like this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of CSI: Miami and no money is being made with this.

Chapter 2: Only One in This World

_What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive. I can't keep up and I can't back down. I've been losing so much time. 'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do. Nothing to lose. And it's you and me and all other people. And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you._

_ -Lifehouse, You and Me_

Ryan was violently roused from his beautiful dreams when the insistent beeping of the alarm pierced through the whole room. He rolled over and slapped his hand on the clock to stop the obnoxious noise. He heard a groan coming from the other end of the bed as he started to shift and get up.

"Is it really necessary to get up at the ass crack of dawn while you're on vacation, Ry?" His sister asked, obviously annoyed.

"Watch your language Alice." Their mom chided.

"Sorry mom, but I was having a really great dream with Tom Cruise."

"Ok, A)Tom Cruise is too old for you. And B)Get a life."

"Shut up jerk face!" Alice said throwing a pillow at Ryan. "I don't criticize the fantasies you have with the girl you saw in the lobby the other day."

"Alice I swear I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap."

"Will all of you just be quiet, please?" Their father pleaded. "Ry, bring me back a muffin when you go down for breakfast."

"Sure dad."

Ryan stood from the bed and headed to the washroom to take a shower and head down to breakfast. He couldn't help that he was a morning person. That was one of the qualities that his family hated about him. These past couple of days he had gotten up in time to make it to breakfast while his parents and sister slept in, making lunch their first meal of the day.

Being a morning person wasn't the only reason why Ryan got up for breakfast. Deep down inside he held hope that he would see Allison again. He hadn't seen her in the two days they had been there, which was a major disappointment to him. Maybe this was going to be his lucky day.

He quickly showered, got dressed, and combed his hair before quietly slipping out of the room. When he made it downstairs he regretted that he didn't see her there. Letting out a sigh he grabbed a plate and served himself some breakfast.

When he sat down his attention was reverted to the entrance of the dining room, where fits of laughter could be heard. Ryan nearly choked on his juice when he saw who was waltzing in. It was the angel of his dreams accompanied by what seemed to him was her little sister.

Allison stood frozen at the door when she saw him sitting at a table. Ryan instantly felt his cheeks heat up when she made eye contact with him. She rewarded him with a shy smile before she was pulled away by her sister towards the food.

Ryan couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was mesmerized by her every move. He was drawn in by the sparkle of her blue eyes. By the way her wavy brown hair swayed when she walked. By the warmth of her smile. She was beautiful in every way. There was no flaw in her. She was perfect like an angel, his angel.

After serving themselves breakfast both girls sat down at a table near him. Allison kept reverting her eyes back to the young man sitting just a few tables down. She was trying really heard to pay attention to the ranting of her sister, nodding at the appropriate times and an occasional 'yeah' and 'sure' every so often.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was gorgeous. He had the most stunning green eyes she had ever seen. The most attractive warm smile anyone could have. A smile that lit up his whole face and made his eyes sparkle even more. He was perfect in every way.

Ever since she saw him in the lobby a couple of days ago she couldn't stop thinking about him. She felt so drawn to him and she didn't know why. All she knew about him was that his name was Ryan and he was on the 4th floor of the hotel. She had this overwhelming sensation that she wanted to get to know more about him.

"So that's how I cleaned the toilet with your toothbrush."

"Yeah," Allison responded. She was totally oblivious to what her sister had just said. "That's cool."

"You're not even paying attention to a word I'm saying."

"Yes I am, Abs."

"Or really then what did I just say?" She asked with a suspicious grin on her face.

"That I'm not paying attention to a word your saying."

"Not that! Before that."

"Uh...You...Umm.."

"See I told you, you weren't paying attention. You're too busy drooling over Mr. Hot stuff over there. Alli, let me tell you, you're not subtle sis. You didn't even hear me say I cleaned the toilet with your toothbrush."

"I am not droo...You did what with my toothbrush!" Abby had to lean back in her chair because she thought that Allison was going to launch herself over the table at her.

"Relax, Cruella Devil, I was just messing with you. I thought it would get your attention since you think sexy eyes over there is more interesting than me." She answered with an annoyed roll of her eyes. "I don't see why you just don't go talk to him? It would spare us having to see the googly eyes."

"They are not googly! And I just can't go over there and start talking. I would feel so stupid. I wouldn't know how to do it anyways without making a fool of myself."

"Sure you can. You do it like this." Abby answered as she stood from her chair.

"Abigail, what are you doing! Get back here, now! Abs, please!" Allison squeaked in frightened shock at the realization that Abby was heading over to Ryan's table.

She felt her whole face heat up as she buried her face in the palms of her hands. She was going to look like a total idiot now. Abby had once again ruined her life beyond repair.

Ryan was looking on bemused at the interaction between the two ladies. They seemed to be discussing something serious. The younger had said something to catch the attention of the older. At one point Ryan had thought that she was going to choke her sister.

Now the shorter of the two was heading his way, a wicked smile spreading evilly across her angelic face. Ryan didn't know where to advert his eyes, but he was being sucked in by the mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Hi, my name is Abigail." She said as sweetly as possible, extending her hand as she sat down in the chair across from him. Ryan studied her closely before offering her his hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Ryan."

"I couldn't help but notice that you were staring at my sister..."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to..."

"Don't be silly Ryan. In case you haven't noticed, but she's been staring at you too. You two are practically slobbering over each other. So spare the world your goofy looks and just go over and talk to her. Go ahead, I give you full permission. That way I can say my life mission has been fulfilled." She stated matter of fact. Like it was as obvious as the sky is blue.

All Ryan could do was stare at her with a dumbfounded expression gracing his features. Did he really just get hit with a clue bat by a, what, twelve year old? He opened his mouth to respond only to shut it again when he couldn't string words into a sentence. "Excuse me?"

"Oh God, really? Are both of you that dense?" Abby responded with an annoyed groan and eye roll for dramatic effect. "Come on, get up! Don't look at me like I'm crazy."

She grabbed Ryan's hand and dragged him out of his chair. His heart was starting to beat in his chest ten times faster than normal at the realization that they were headed to the table where Allison was sitting. A hundred different things to say to her were running through his mind. He didn't want to look like a total loser.

"Alright, here we go. Alli this is Ryan. Ryan this is my sister Allison."

The love birds simply stared at each other in confusion, neither one of them daring to move in fear of looking stupid. Abby pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

"Do I have to do everything for you two? Here, let me help you, this is what you do." She stated as she grabbed Ryan's hand and put it into Allison's. "See this is what two young adults do when they meet each other, it's not rocket science. Now Ryan go ahead and sit down. I'm done eating so I'm gonna head back to the room."

Ryan did as he was told as Abby picked up her plate. Allison had opened her mouth in an attempt to protest, but she quickly shut it when her sister fixed her with a stern glare. This was so ridicules. She was the older sister not the other way around. Abby was not supposed to be bossing her around. She was about to open her mouth again to dispute this arrangement when she caught sight of the panicked look in Ryan's eyes. It was as if he were terrified that she was going to run away from him. Truth be told she was terrified that he was going to run away when he saw what a loser she was.

Alli glanced down at there still entwined hands and felt the corners of her mouth twitch up into a smile. Their hands molded so easily to each other. Ryan glimpsed down to where she was looking and saw that he was still holding her hand. He instantly felt his face redden in embarrassment. He was still in shock that he was sitting here in front of her.

He quickly pulled his hand out of her grip and looked away shyly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She responded with a reassuring smile. "I apologize for my sister's craziness. She can get out of control sometimes."

"No problem. I understand. I have a crazy sister of my own."

"Do you? How old is she?"

"She's twelve. Her name is Alice, but I call her Al. She's my partner in crime."

"Abs, is twelve also. She's sometimes my partner in crime and sometimes she's a real pain in my behind." She said with a little chuckle.

"Yeah I get that from her sometimes, but I love her and I wouldn't change her for the world."

"I here ya!"

They both laughed and continued to converse without a care in the world. As they got to know each other, everything around them disappeared. In their world they were the only two people in the room. At this moment in time there was nothing more important than each other.


	3. One Kiss

A\N: I really hope you guys like this chapter. I'm not really to fond of it. I really wanted to convey Ryan's relationship with his parents some more, just getting a little background on them. Thanks to Nalia for betaing this chapter for me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI: Miami and am not making any money off this. Just pure stress releasing.

Chapter 3: One Kiss

_Lyin' here with you so close to me. It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe. Caught up in this moment. Caught up in your smile. I've never opened up to anyone. So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms. We don't need to rush this. Let's just take it slow. Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight. Just a touch of the fire burning so bright. No I don't want to mess this thing up. I don't want to push too far. Just a shot in the dark that you just might. Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life. So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight._

Just A Kiss-Lady Antebellum

Ryan gazed into the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. He simply wanted to drown in them. It didn't occur to him that he could look like a dork or that he could be drooling.

"Ryan?"

"Huh?"

The young teen was pulled out of his daydreaming and was met with the concerned expression of his new friend.

"Are you alright?"

Ryan felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He had been caught ogling her once again. God could he be more of a dork?

"I'm sorry, I just got lost in those beautiful blue eyes of yours."

Ali turned her face bashfully as her cheeks turned crimson. His comment made her stomach do flip flops inside of her. They had only known each other for about two weeks, but in those couple of weeks they had told each other mostly everything about their lives. From the first memory to the most embarrassing one. It felt like they've known each other their whole lives.

Allison turned to look at Ryan and smiled the smile that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was a contiguous smile, causing him to smile right back at her.

"Thanks," She replied. "but I was asking you if you were close to your parents?"

"Yeah, most of the time, when they're not busy embarrassing me."

"They wouldn't be doing their job properly if they didn't embarrass you"

Ali smiled at him and he snorted at her response. "True, but them both being professors kind of makes them both geeks."

The brunette chuckled. "That doesn't make them geeks Ryan, they're just very intelligent."

"Guess that's why I'm so smart, it's in my genes."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Smarty Pants? So I guess you're going to be a professor to when you get older?"

Ryan frowned at her question. Ali noticed his reaction and worried that he had upset him in some way.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

He looked at her and saw the fear flickering in her eyes. He mentally chastised himself for reacting the way he did. She wasn't at fault for the problem he had with his parents.

"No, No, of course not. It's just that I had an argument with my parents before we went on vacation because I told them that I didn't want to be a professor." He let out a sigh. "They weren't exactly thrilled with my potential future career choice."

"What is it that you want to be?"

"A police officer." Ryan replied with a smile that quickly faded. "Only my parents believe that it's a dangerous profession. They didn't want to live everyday worrying that their son was out there in the line of fire and that at any moment they could get the call notifying them that I've been killed."

Allison took his hand in hers and instantly felt her heart flutter at the contact. It scared her that in the short time they have know each other that such a simple contact made her feel like this.

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "You have to understand where their coming from Ryan. You're their son and they want to protect you."

"I know Ali, but they also have to understand that it's my life. They can't expect me to spend the rest of my life doing something that I don't want to and that is going to make me miserable."

"Give them time Ry, they'll come to understand that being a cop is your dream. Parents never want to get in between their children and their dreams, even if it's something they don't whole heartily approve of." She let a sigh. "I just wish my mother was more understanding about my dreams."

It was now Ryan's turn to give her hand a squeeze. "I'm sure if you give your mom time, she'll come around."

Allison let out a snort. "It shows that you don't know my mom. She tries to control my every move and impose things upon me that I don't want. She wants to get her way all the time and I'm starting to get sick of it."

"Just think that in a couple of years you'll be going off to college and you won't be under her control so much."

"That's what I keep hoping, but somehow I know she'll still find a way to keep controlling my life."

It made his gut twist in a knot to see the distraught look on a usually angelic face. He pushed down the urge to walk over to the other side of the table and take her into his arms, knowing that at this point in their relationship it would be a bit awkward.

"Enough of our overprotective parents. Let's finish our walk."

Ali gave his hand one more squeeze before she let go. Immediately they both regretted the loss of contact. They smiled at each other as they stood form the table and continued on their walk. As they headed to the beach to watch the sunset Ryan noticed tents with vendors selling souvenirs.

"Hang on just a second."

"Where are you going?" Allison asked confused.

"I'll be right back."

Ryan quickly jogged over to one of the tents and briefly scanned the tables. After a few seconds later Allison saw him pick something up and pay for it. He jogged back over to where his friend was waiting for him and stood in front of her. He nervously rolled the item in his hand as he looked down at the ground.

Ali looked at him quizzically. "Ryan, are you alright?"

The teen lifted the article in his hand between his thumb and index finger so that it was in Allison's line of sight. Her eyes instantly widened when she saw the small delicate silver heart shaped ring.

"I saw it the other day and it reminded me of you."

Ryan carefully slid the ring on his friends right ring finger.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

They let their intertwined hands fall to the side as they looked into each other's eyes. They felt those famous butterflies flutter in their stomachs. Ryan leaned his face a few inches forward letting is intentions be known. He looked at her one more time, searching her face of any indication that she didn't want this and not finding any.

He quickly closed the distance between them and fused their lips into a soft sweet kiss. Ryan's hands come to wrap around her waist while her hands come to frame his face. Their lips moved together in sync, each savoring in the taste of the other. Ryan wished he could go on kissing her for ever but the need for air was getting to be too much and he reluctantly pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I've been wanting to do that since the day I saw you." Ryan stated, slightly out of breath.

"What, buy me a ring?"

They both let out a chuckle.

"No, kiss you." Ryan peered into her eyes as he raked his fingers through her soft hair. "You stole my heart that very first day. I couldn't get you out of my mind. You're beautiful."

He kissed her once more.

"I felt the same way. I'm really glad my sister introduced us."

"So am I."

They shared one more kiss before making their way to the beach to watch the sunset. After a few minutes of being in each other's arms and stealing kisses here and there they headed back to the hotel, sharing one last kiss before heading to their rooms.


	4. All that Matters is You

_A/N: No Beta. All mistakes are mine._

_Disclaimer: CSI: Miami does not belong to me.  
><em>

_I wish I had what I needed To be on my own 'Cause I feel so defeated And I'm feeling alone And it all seems so helpless And I have no plans I'm a plane in the sunset With nowhere to land And all I see It could never make me happy And all my sand castles Spend their time collapsing Let me know that You hear me Let me know Your touch Let me know that You love me And let that be enough._

~Let That be Enough-Switchfoot

Allison rode the elevator up to her room with the biggest smile on her face. She had just spent the majority of the morning with her new boyfriend. They were so happy together that they never stopped to think what would happen when their vacation would end and it was time to go home.

She walked down the hallway until she got to the door of her room and made her way in with her key card. Once inside she closed the door behind her and set her key on the table beside the door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her mom sitting on the couch reading a book. The teen really wasn't in the mood to deal with her mother's antics. She tried to make her way to her room as if she hadn't see her there.

"You were with that boy, weren't you?" Her mother asked.

Allison stood still with her back to her mother. She knew that it was a rhetorical question. Her mother knew exactly where she was, whether she liked it or not.

"You know that I was mom. I don't know why you even ask."

"I have already told you that I didn't want you seeing that boy."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh in frustration. "Yeah, I know you did, but I still don't understand why."

"He's not like us."

"Not like us, how? Last time I checked he had two arms, two legs, eyes, ears, a nose..."

"You know what I mean Allison!" Her mother shouted.

At the sudden raising in voices Allison's father and sister came out of their rooms. Her father looked at each of them, his brows knitting in confusion. Great, now her love life was going to become a family discussion.

"What is going on?" Her father asked.

"Nothing John, just that your daughter went off to see that boy again after I specifically told her not to."

John let out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand through his hair. They had already been through this once before that week. His daughter seemed to like this boy and he saw nothing wrong with that. From what Allison had told him about him, he seemed like a nice boy, but his wife didn't feel the same way he did.

"Trisha, I thought we already went through this. That boy seems nice and there is nothing wrong with him."

"He is not of our kind." Trisha retorted.

"Not of our kind?" Allison asked in disbelief. "And what kind is that mom? Shallow and self centered or stuck up?"

"Do not talk to me like that!"

Allison glared at her mother. She really hated getting into arguments with her and she usually tried to avoid them by simply doing everything that she wanted, but this was the last straw. She was fifteen and it was time she took control of her life and not be her mother's puppet. She was determined to step down from the pedestal she was set upon.

"Ali honey, we've been through this. He is lower class. He is not like us. Have you ever stopped to wonder that he may only be with you because of your money?" Trisha said.

Her daughter looked at her disbelievingly. "Are you kidding me mom? Do you even hear yourself?"

"Trisha-"

"No John, she needs to think about it and not dive head first into this."

"Ryan is nothing like that. He is a nice sweet guy that really cares about me."

Her mother snorted at the last comment her daughter made. "Honey, he could just be a good actor. What about Clay Stevenson? Now he's a nice boy and he comes from a good family and I'm pretty sure he likes you. Why don't you just forget about this silly little boy and your little crush and when we get home you and Clay can go out on a date?"

"What? NO! Clay is a jerk. And this not a crush! I love Ryan!

"Love?" Trisha blurted out in shock. "This is ridiculous! You're only fifteen. You don't know what love is."

"And you do?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly how it sounds. You are the last person on this planet to lecture me on love, you know nothing about it."

"Alli please." Her sister pleaded.

"No Abs, it's ridiculous that she wants to lecture me about love when love is not an emotion she is capable of feeling." Allison turned her attention back to her mother and looked her in the eyes. "You have been married to dad for seventeen years, but you don't love him. You are only with him out of convenience, because grandma forced you to. Because dad was a good catch. Face it mom you would be nothing if it weren't for dad. I want to be with someone because I love him and because he loves me. I don't want to end up like you, bitter and alone."

Allison didn't even have time to react, next thing she knew there was a searing pain in her cheek where her mother smacked her. She cradled her cheek in her hand and turned to glare at her mother, a tear trailing down her fingers.

"No matter how hard you try, I will never be like you." Allison hissed.

Trisha rose her hand in another attempt to hit her daughter, but was caught off guard when her husband's hand wrapped itself around her wrist. "Allison go to your room, please." John instructed. "Abby go get your sister something to drink from the lobby's restaurant." Each girl did as they were told, leaving the married couple alone in bitter silence.

Allison ran into her room, tears falling freely down her delicate cheeks, and slammed the door closed behind her. Rounding her bed she fell to the floor and cradled her knees in her arms. She buried her face in her lap and began to sob.

A few seconds later the door slowly creaked open. Allison didn't even look up to see who it was until she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She slowly lifted her head and was met with the distressing look in her father's eyes.

"Hey, sweet pea." Her father cooed.

"I'm so sorry dad if I hurt you. I didn't mean to."

"Oh no, honey. Come here." John opened up his arms and his daughter instantly hurled herself at him. They both wrapped their arms tightly around each other. "You didn't hurt me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at mom, but she made me so angry." She said in between sobs. "I really like Ryan dad. I've never felt this way about another boy in my life. I really do think I love him."

"I don't doubt you honey. My only concern is that we're leaving in a few days and what's going to happen next?" Ger father asked concerned. He didn't want his baby girl to get her heart broken.

Allison pulled away slightly from her father's embrace and wiped away a few stray tears. "Well we come here every year so he was going to convince his parents to come down here each year too, so we can see each other. Then maybe we could go to the same university."

"That sounds like a plan sweet pea, but what's going happen in between then? How do you know he won't meet someone back home or if you're going to find someone else?"

"Do you think that we shouldn't be together?"

"That's not what I'm saying honey. What I'm saying is that, if you're a hundred percent sure this long distance relationship is going to work?"

Allison looked down at the ring on her finger and twirled it around a couple of times before looking back at her father. "I do believe that it will work."

John cupped his daughters face and gave her a sympathetic smile. He pulled her forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. He buried his nose in the crown of her head and whispered. "I hope so sweet pea, I really hope so."

In that moment there was a soft knock on the door before it slowly opened, allowing Abigail to poke her head through. "Is it ok if I come in?" John and Allison gave her a warm smile and beckoned her into the room. "I got you a bottled water."

The teen gratefully accepted the water and smiled again at her sister. "Well I'll let you two be alone. I'm going to go see what your mother is doing." Their father stated before standing up and walking out of the room. Abigail took the spot her father had vacated and took her sister's hand in hers. "I support you in everything Alli." Allison pulled her sister into a hug. "Thank you."

After a few seconds Allison pulled away, cupped both of her sister's hands with hers, and looked at her sister in the eyes. "Abs, I need you to do something for me." Her sister nodded in agreement. "I need you to cover for me tonight. Mom planned that dinner with dad's business partner, but I want to go see Ryan. I need you to tell them that I'm sick and that I can't go. Can you do that for me?"

Abby nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah Ali, I can do that."

"Thanks Abs, I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. That's what sisters are for."

Both sisters smiled at each other and gave each other one more hug before Abby went to get ready for the dinner. After a few hours Abby and her parents were in the living room waiting for Allison.

"Where's your sister?" Trisha asked.

"She said she wasn't feeling well, so she was going to stay in bed." Abby responded.

"Oh for heaven's sake! She's probably being a spoiled brat and faking it. She better get ready fast because she's going to this dinner whether she wants to or not.!"

Trisha was headed to her daughter's bedroom when she felt a hand on her forearm. She turned to find her husband's stern glare directed at her. "Leave her be."

"But John-"

"I said leave her be! She's been through enough today and it's understandable that she doesn't want to go anywhere tonight."

"This is why she's so rebellious, because you spoil her and let her do whatever she wants." Trisha retorted.

"I really don't want to do this right now. Let's go, we're already late."

Trisha rolled her eyes and walked past her husband and her daughter towards the door. "She'll hear about this tomorrow." John pursed his lips and sighed as he saw his wife's retreating form. He turned to look at his daughter and saw sadness in her eyes. John kissed her on her forehead and ushered her out of the room.

Once the door clicked closed the door to the bedroom creaked open. Allison peeked her head through the crack of the door and made sure the coast was clear before she slipped out of the room. She gathered her coat and looked at herself one more time in the mirror before she to left the hotel suite.

She got off the elevator and discreetly walked through the lobby, careful not to be seen by her family or anyone who knew the family. Allison quickly made her way to the parking lot where she managed to flag down a cab that took her to the beach where Ryan was waiting for her.

Fifteen minutes later she arrived to her destination. She quickly paid the cab and walked down to the shore where she could see the distinct silhouette of the boy she was looking for.

"Hey stranger." Allison greeted.

Ryan turned around and smiled at her. " Hey there beautiful." He was about to lean in and give her a kiss when he saw the small bruise on her cheek. "Ali, what happened?"

"It's nothing Ry. It's fine."

"No, It's not fine! Who did this to you?"

Allison let out a sigh as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. "My mom and I got in an argument about us."

Ryan pulled her face up and looked at her slightly confused. "About us?" Allison averted looking into her boyfriends eyes. "She doesn't want us to be together because of our social class differences."

The young man felt like he had just been slapped in the face. It made him feel like trash. Never in his life had he experienced discrimination like this. Allison saw the look of despair on her boyfriends face and it made her insides turn into knots. She had wanted to keep this from him as much as possible, but with the sudden turn of events it was pointless to hide it anymore.

Allison bracketed his face in her hands and made him look into her eyes. "None of that matters, she doesn't matter. What matters is what you and I feel for each other. I love you and I don't care what she says or what anyone else says."

Ryan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek in his hand. He placed a delicate kiss on her forehead before pressing his to it. "I love you to. You're the first girl I've ever felt this way about." He pulled her face toward his and sealed their lips together.

Within a few seconds the kiss was deepened and became passionate. They fell onto the blanket that was stretched out on the sand by Ryan. They pulled apart when the need for air became too much.

"We better stop before it gets out of hand." Ryan said, trying to catch his breath.

"I want this Ryan, I want you."

Ryan looked into his girlfriends eyes for conformation. He wanted this to, but he didn't want to screw things up with her by rushing things. "Are you sure?"

Allison nodded. "Yes."

He instantly refused his lips to hers. Allison slowly laid down on the blanket, all the while not relinquishing her boyfriends lips. Ryan covered her body with his as he started to kiss down her neck and map out her body with his hands.

Neither of them knew what they were doing, this being their first time. They were simply playing it by ear. The couple within seconds started to shed their clothes and started to explore each other's body with delicate kiss and touches.

As they made sweet love to each other the whole world slipped into the background, all that mattered in that moment was each other and their love.


	5. Until We Meet Again

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews. They always make my day!

I know this chapter isn't entirely a happy one, so please don't hate me. I blame it on the plot bunny in my head.

Thanks to ballistics belle for letting be borrow her idea of adding a song, quote, or poem to the beginning of my chapters.

No Beta. All mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately CSI: Miami does not belong to me. No money is being made of this.

_Here comes goodbye Here comes the last time Here comes the start of every sleepless night The first of every tear I'm gonna cry Here comes the pain Here comes me wishing things had never changed And she was right here in my arms tonight But here comes goodbye_

_~Here Comes Goodbye-Rascal Flatts_

Ryan Wolfe began to slowly stir as the soft breeze whistled in his ear. Bit by bit he opened his eyes and tried to focus them as the rising sun accosted them. As soon as he saw the warm body that was pressed against his a huge smile brightened up his face.

He quickly canvassed their surroundings when he realized that they were still on the beach, quite naked, and only a small blanket covering the necessary parts. He looked at his watch and noted that it was 6:00 AM, meaning no one was on the beaches quite yet.

The teen took a few seconds to admire the angel sleeping at his side. He still couldn't believe that they had actually spent the night together. Never in a million years had he ever thought that it would ever be a possibility. He hadn't come to the beach last night thinking that he would get to "score". All he wanted to do was spend a quite night with his girlfriend and enjoy the last couple of nights they had together before they had to head back home. Making love to her and showing how much he loved her was a plus to an already beautiful evening.

He delicately pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Baby, wake up. We have to get going before someone sees us here." Allison slowly began to rouse and mumbled in her sleep. "Give me 5 minutes.'

"How 'bout I give you 2, because we really have to start getting dressed."

Alli opened her eyes and was met with the beautiful green eyes of her boyfriend and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. Last night had been wonderful. It was the most perfect and beautiful night of her life. They had made love. They had shown each other how much they loved each other.

"What time is it?"

"6 in the morning."

Allison rolls onto her back and lets out a sigh as she covered her eyes. "Great my mother is going to kill me if she's seen that I'm not there." She feels an arm warp itself around her waist and slowly she uncovers her eyes to find Ryan hovering over her with concern etched all over his face.

"Do you want me to go talk to your parents? I can talk to your mom and maybe try and convince her that we love each other and it doesn't matter that we come from different social classes."

Alli cupped Ryan's face in with her hands and smiled up at him before kissing him softly on the lips. "That's really sweet of you Ryan, but I really don't think it would make any difference. My mother is self centered. When she has her mind set on something there is nothing anyone can say that will change it."

Ryan pursed his lips and adverted from looking into her eyes. "I wish I could have money so that your mother would accept me," he returned his gaze to hers. "but I have your love and that's all I need. I wouldn't trade you for all the money in the world. I love you."

"I wouldn't trade you for all the money in the world either. I love you so much to."

Ryan lowered his face and she met him half way in a slow and passionate kiss. After a few seconds Allison pulled away and smiled at him. "We better get dressed before someone sees us here in all of our glory." Ryan snorted as he started to get up from the blanket.

Within a couple of minutes they were both fully dressed and ready to go. Together, hand in hand they walked off the beach, flagged a cab, and made it back to the hotel. They made it to the second floor where Allison's suite was located. They stepped of the elevator and stood facing each other.

"Meet you for lunch?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to."

Ryan leaned forward and gave her one more soft kiss goodbye before getting back onto the elevator. Just before the big metal doors closed completely Ryan said one last thing. "I love you."

Allison gave him a bright smile in response. "I love you to." And with that the doors closed completely.

Ryan made his way down the hallway towards his room, all the while whistling, his good mood evident. He slid the key card into unlock the door and walked into his room, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Ryan Alexander Wolfe! Where in God's name have you been?" His mother all but shouted.

The teen was a little startled by the sudden chastising bestowed upon him by his mother. She looked extremely worried and angry at the same time. Ryan had never seen her that way.

Mrs. Wolfe closed the gap that was between them and began to examine every inch of her son. "Are you hurt? Did they drug you? Oh, sweetheart, please tell me what happened?"

Ry delicately pushed his mother's prodding hands away. "Mom, I'm fine. I'm not hurt and most certainly wasn't drugged."

"Well than please do explain young man, where were you? You had your father and I worried to death. I was this close," she put her index finger and thumb close together, inches away from her sons face. "this close Ryan Wolfe to calling the police and filing a missing person's report!"

"Relax mom."

"Relax he says! Do you hear him Landon! He wants me to relax. Tell me Ry, how do you want me to relax when I spent half the night thinking that something horrible had happened to you? That you could have been laying in a ditch somewhere, hurt? Or worse, that you could have been dead?"

Ryan's mother was on the verge of tears. It killed the young man to see her that way and that he was the cause of it. He loved his mother so much. She was everything to him and he never wanted to see her that way.

Ry walked over to his mother and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I'm so sorry mom. I didn't mean to scare you guys like this." Ryan felt her arms tighten themselves around him as well, then he felt the strong sturdy hand of his father on his shoulder. "It's alright son, we're just glad that you're back with us now."

They pulled apart from their embrace and Ryan wiped the tears away from his mother's cheeks. Samantha smiled at him and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Sweetheart, where were you all night?"

"I was at the beach, with Allison."

Both his parents looked at him surprised. His mother looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "Oh, honey, please tell me that you and Allison didn't, you know, she's a sweet girl and all but-"

"No mom, of course not. We're not ready for that." Ryan hoped to God that they didn't see that he was lying. It's not that he regretted what had happened , but right now he didn't feel like getting another lecture from his mother.

"Oh, thank God. You're right, you are not ready for that. Both of you are too young to be doing those things."

"I know mom. Umm, I'm going to take a shower. Allison and I are going to lunch together."

"Alright, sweetheart."

He kissed his mother on the cheek one more time before grabbing his clothes and heading to the bathroom.

Allison made it to her door and opened it with her key card. She closed the door and turned to walk to her room, but was startled when she found multiple suitcases lining the small hallway.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, they still had 2 days before they had to head back home. She slowly made it through the hallway and rounded the corner into the living room where she saw her sister on the couch, forearms resting on her lap as her hands cradled her face.

"Abs, what's going on?"

"Oh Alli, thank God your here." Abby wrapped her arms around her sister. "I thought you ran away and left me here alone."

Allison tightened her embrace on her sister. "I would never do that to you Abby. I promised I would take you with me where ever I went."

"Tell me, why are there suitcases in the hallway? I thought we still had a couple days here."

In that moment her mother came into the living room from her bedroom. "I see that the runaway came straggling back home. What, did you find out that your so called prince charming wasn't so charming after all?"

Allison glared at her mother. It was sad that as much as she fought with her mother and knew that her mother kind of hated her for some unknown reason, it still hurt to see that she hadn't even worried about her when she didn't come back to the hotel last night.

"Well at least you saved me from lugging all your things down to charity."

The teen looked at her mother with confusion for a few seconds. Then it dawned on her. They were going to leave without her. They were just going to leave her here in Florida, alone. Her heart finished breaking in her chest, the realization finally hitting her that her mother was a cold hearted human being that didn't love her. She felt the prickling of fresh tears threatening run down her cheeks. "You were just going to leave me here and not look for me?"

"What was the point? You had made it clear that you would rather be with that boy than with your family, so I wasn't going to waste my time."

She looked at her mother disbelievingly as a tear betrayed her and rolled down her cheek. This wasn't her mother. She didn't know who the woman that standing in front of her was, but she wasn't her mother. Allison was about to say something when she felt a delicate hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw the sadden face of her sibling.

"I was going to look for you, but mom wouldn't let me. Dad is out there looking for you right now."

Allison gave her sister a weak smile as she grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I know you wouldn't Abs."

"I'm going to need you to pack your things quickly. We are leaving as soon as your father gets back." Trish interrupted.

"What!" Allison yelled. "No, we can't leave. We're not supposed be leave until another 2 days."

"Well that changed when you decided to run off with that schoolboy. I told you I didn't want you seeing him and you still went off to see him and spent the night doing God knows what. Now go get your things packed ."

"No! "Allison started to make her way to the door when her mother grabbed her violently by the arm and pulled her to a stop. "Where do you think you're going?"

Alli pulled her arm out her mother's grasp. "I'm going to go find Ryan!"

"I don't think so!" Trisha yelled as she grabbed her daughter by the arm again and pulled her forcefully back into the living room.

"Let me go!"

Allison was headed back towards the door when it abruptly swung open allowing her father to walk into the room.

"Allison! Oh, thank God your alright."

Her father wrapped her up in his arms, squeezing tightly. "I'm sorry that I scared you daddy, I didn't mean to. I just lost track of time."

"Great, now that we're all happily reunited we can get out of this place." Trisha deadpanned.

"No dad please, we can't go yet. I have to go see Ryan."

"I already told you that you are not seeing him!" Her mother spat.

"I really don't care what you say because I'm going to go see him anyways."

"If you set one foot outside that door without us I well go file charges against that boy's parents for kidnapping a minor."

Allison felt like her heart had completely stopped at the words that her mother had uttered. She never thought that her mom would stoop so low. "You wouldn't dare?"

"Try me."

The teen stared disbelievingly at the woman that was standing in front of her for a few seconds then took a step forward in the intention of getting into her mother's face, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Alli, go back your bags. Abby, go with your sister. I need to talk with your mom." John ordered.

"But, dad!" Alli protested.

"Alli, please just go."

She looked up at her father with disappointment before storming off to her room, Abby right behind her. As soon as the door closed behind them the yelling started. Fighting was a major occurrence between Mr. and Mrs. Cahill. Alli and Abby didn't even flinch anymore when they heard the yelling. It was all just second nature to them now.

Allison began to feverishly pace the floor as the tears finally betrayed her and began to flow freely down her cheeks.

"How can she do this to me! She's always ruing my life! I hate, her I hate her so much!" She finally collapsed to the ground beside the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and began to sob uncontrollably.

Abigail crouched down beside her and tried to comfort her the best she could. "I'm so sorry Allison. Maybe I shouldn't have set you two up and none of this would be happening right now."

Allison's head immediately shot up from where it was buried in her lap. "No, don't ever say that. You setting me up with Ryan was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Ryan makes me happy, you have made me happy."

They pulled each other into a tight embrace and stayed that way for a few minutes until they heard the yelling stop and the door from the suite slamming shut. Allison pulled away and looked at her sister in the eyes. "I need you do me another huge favor, please?"

"Of course."

"I'm going to write Ryan a letter, explaining to him what's happening and I need you to take it to him for me. He'll be waiting for me at the diner down the street."

"Ok."

Allison made haste and began writing her letter. After a couple minutes she was folding the piece of paper up and handing it to her sister.

Abigail slowly made her way out of the room, careful not to make too much noise. As soon as she was out of the suite Abs thought that she was home free, but she soon heard the familiar voice behind her.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Trisha asked.

"Nowhere. Just down to the store to get some snacks." Abby replied trying to sound innocent as possible.

"What do you have behind your back?

"Nothing."

"Give it to me!"

"I don't have anything!"

"Give it to me now Abigail!"

Trisha snatched the piece of paper out of her daughter's hands and began to read it. Once she was done she tore it up into pieces.

"No!" Abs protested.

"Now you listen to me very well Abigail. You are going to the store to get your snacks, but you are not to say a word to that boy, you hear me? And you are to tell your sister that he wasn't there. If you talk to him or your sister I will send you far away to a boarding school and you will never get to see your father or sister again. Do you understand?"

Abby nodded in understanding as tears streamed down her face. She was trembling with fear as she met the ice cold glare of her mother's eyes.

"Now go!"

She quickly turned around and ran down the hallway. The little girl took the elevator down to the lobby and headed to the store down the street. On her way back she stopped by the diner where Ryan was supposed to be waiting. And there he was, sitting at a booth, nursing a soda through a straw.

Abby knew if she didn't go in there and explain everything to him and they would leave, Ryan would think that Allison had abandon him. But that was far from the truth, only she couldn't say anything. She wanted so badly to go in there and tell him everything, but she couldn't. She just hoped that her sister would forgive her one day.

Abigail made it back to their suite and went into her room where Allison had just finished packing.

"What did he say?"

"He wasn't there."

"What? He wasn't there? Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure Alli. I waited for 10 minutes and he never showed. I'm sorry."

Allison flopped onto the bed completely crestfallen. Ryan hadn't been there when he said he would. A million things were running through the teen's head at once. Maybe her mother was right. No, she refused to believe that. Something wasn't right. She was about to ask her sister something when her father walked into the room.

"Are you girls ready?"

This was it. There was no other way out of this. Allison had to leave and she was leaving without being able to say goodbye.

Her father grabbed their suitcases and both girls followed him out of the room. All four of them headed down to the lobby where a cab was waiting for them to take them to the airport. The three ladies got into the taxi while John checked them out.

A few minutes later John got into the cab and they were off heading towards the airport. Allison wiped away a tear as she wistfully stared out the window. This was goodbye. She felt like she was never going to see this place again. Like she would never see Ryan again.

Ryan got onto the elevator and made his way up to the second floor where Allison's suite was located. After waiting for a half hour at the diner and Alli never showed he decided to head back to the hotel.

He was worried that her mother had done something to her because she had stayed out all night. He quickly walked down the hall and stopped abruptly in front of the door, but was confused when he saw the room was empty and the maids were cleaning it.

Ryan quickly back tracked and took the elevator back down to the lobby. He walked to the check in desk. "Excuse me, can you please tell me if the Cahill family is still staying here?"

"Are you family?"

"Uh no, I'm just a friend. I was going to visit them while they were here, but I didn't know if they were still here."

" Let me take a look."

Ryan waited patiently while the young lady looked at her computer.

"I'm sorry sir, but the Cahill family just checked out about 20 minutes ago."

Ryan felt his heart break into a million pieces. Allison was gone. She had left without an explanation. She had left without saying goodbye.


	6. Waiting For You

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews and for reading. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own CSI: Miami.

_Going back to the corner where I first saw you. Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move. Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand. Saying if you see this girl can you tell her where I am. Some try to hand me money, they don't understand. I'm not broke I'm just a broken hearted man. I know it makes no sense, but what else can I do. How can I move one when I'm still in love with you. 'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me. And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be. Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet. And you'd see me waiting for you on the corner of the street._

_~The Man Who Can't Be Moved-The Script_

One Year Later

Ryan Wolfe stepped out of the car and stared up at the hotel where one year ago he had met the most amazing girl that had made him extremely happy and at the end had completely ripped his heart apart.

At first he was hesitant at asking his parents to go back to Miami for their family vacation, but after long deliberation with himself he decided that he needed to go back. He needed to see if she was there, if she had gone back to find him.

His heart pounded in his chest when he walked through the doors of the hotel and headed to the check in desk. His eyes kept darting to the entrance of the hotel when someone came in, but she never did.

The family finished checking in and headed up to their room to start unpacking and get some rest before dinner. Ryan finished unpacking and checked the clock. It was almost time.

"Um, mom, dad I'm done unpacking so I'm gonna go take a walk on the beach. Is that alright?"

Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe looked at their son skeptically. They didn't want to come back to this place because they knew the pain it would cause their son to be here. They had done everything that they could to try and get their son out of the depression that he had fallen in to.

It had broken their heart to see their child suffer like that. He had closed himself off from everyone. Their son would just go to school then come home and go straight to his room and not come out all afternoon. He would hardly eat or talk to anyone. It was as if he was dead in life.

"Honey, I don't think-"

"Mom, it'll be fine." Ryan interrupted. "I'll be fine. I promise."

Samantha looked in her son's eyes for a few more seconds then let out a sigh of resignation. "Alright, but don't be too long. We're going to head out to dinner in a little bit."

"Ok, Ma. I won't be long." He kissed his mom on the cheek and headed out to the beach.

"Do you want the keys to the car?" his father asked.

"No it's ok, I'll just take a cab." Ryan responed.

A few minutes later the cab dropped him off at the beach. The same beach where he had made love to Allison, the same place where he had last seen her.

Ryan checked his watch, almost 4 P.M. If she came back, she should be here soon. This is where they had agreed to meet one year ago. He wasn't sure if she would show up, but he wanted to be there in case she did. In his heart he hoped that she would, that her leaving was a complete misunderstanding and that she still loved him.

The young man looked up at the sky as the rain clouds started to roll in. A clap of thunder echoed through the air. He knew that it could start to rain at any moment, but he didn't want to leave, he couldn't leave.

He looked at his watch again, 4 P.M. and still no sight of her. Ry, canvassed his surroundings and she was nowhere in the area. He was going to wait. He needed to wait.

Another clap of thunder resonated through the air and he looked at his watch again, 4:10. His heart slowly sank to his stomach. She wasn't coming. Allison wasn't coming for him. After all the love she had sworn to have for him, she had left him and didn't look back.

The first rain drop come down on his head. Ryan looked up at the sky, it was dark and grey, just like he was on the inside. It start pouring, completely drenching him, his tears getting lost in the rain.

Allison sat in the window seat of her room and looked out the window at the pouring rain. The day looked like she felt, cold, gloomy, dead. The complete opposite of how she had felt a year ago.

She was happy then. Happy in his arms, Ryan's arms. Those had been the best days of her life, but then her mother had completely ripped it out of her hands without any remorse.

So instead of being in Miami with him she was here, in Chicago living with her grandmother.

Her mom had sent her to live here almost two months after they had gotten home. Trisha had said that it was for being a bad daughter and being a disgrace to the family. She was being sent with her grandma to learn lesson and to try and set her on the right path.

Allison had to laugh at that. If someone had to learn a lesson it was her mother. The lesson on how to love and to not revolve her life around the material things.

She would never regret anything that had happen between her and Ryan. She would do everything again in a heartbeat even though it landed her here, alone.

Her dad and sister had fought tooth and nail against her mother to try and let her stay, but their attempts were futile. From one day to the next they just stopped fighting. Allison new that her mom had threatened them with something, but there was no way for her to prove it.

The rumble of thunder pulled her out of her musings. The rain was pouring down harder than before. She wondered if it was raining in Miami. She looked at the clock on her dresser, 3:20 P.M. In Miami it was 4:20, twenty minutes after their meeting time.

She wondered if he was there, waiting for her. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. He hadn't shown up at the diner that afternoon. She wished with all her heart and soul that she could be there. A tear spilled over the brim of her eye and slowly trickled down her cheek.

"Allison, come downstairs. Abby's here." her grandmother called up.

Alli wiped the stray tears from her face and took a deep breath. After looking at herself one last time in the mirror she made her way out of the room to see her sister. It had been almost a year since she had last seen her.

Taking one last breath, she descended the stairs. This was her life now. With or without Ryan she had to keep moving forward.


	7. Skyscraper

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long to update. I hope that everyone will still be reading this. Real life got kind of hectic, got a new job.

This chapter is focused on Allison because I had to tell a lot of her story and plus if I added Ryan it would have been a really long chapter. The last sentence in this chapter leads into the song that I'm going to use for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I own nothing except for the few extra characters.

_Skies are crying, I am watching Catching tear drops in my hands Only silence as it's ending Like we never had a chance Do you have to make me feel like There's nothing left of me? You can take everything I have You can break everything I am Like I'm made of glass Like I'm made of paper Go on and try to tear me down I will be rising from the ground Like a skyscraper Like a skyscraper As the smoke clears, I awaken And untangle you from me Would it make you feel better To watch me while I bleed? All my windows still are broken But I'm standing on my feet._

_~Skyscraper-Demi Lovato_

5 years later

Allison carefully stepped out of the cab into the bitter cold of December and paid the driver. As it drove off she stood and stared at the house that she hadn't set foot into for the past 5 years, the house where she grew up in. She hadn't wanted to come back here but, her grandmother and sister had insisted a great number of times for her to come home for the holidays.

She removed her hat and smoothed out the jacket of her dress blues, her Navy dress blues. She still couldn't believe she was wearing this uniform. It was the hardest decision she had had to make. She had wanted to get away from all her problems, away from one problem in particular. She knew she had to go somewhere where she didn't have to go home during the summer or holidays. 2 years ago she had joined the academy in hopes that it would help her forget, but not even the distance would let her forget.

The honking of a car horn pulled her out of her musings. She chuckled to herself, there was no doubt she was back in Jersey. She let the familiar sounds of the city wash over her, trying to pacify her nerves. Straightening her jacket one last time she walked to the door of the home. She took in a deep breath before ringing the door bell. The young lady felt extremely nervous and hoped that anyone but her mother opened the door. Within a few seconds the door swung open. Standing in front of her was one of the most important people in her life, her father.

Mr. Cahill took in the sight of his daughter in her dress blues and smiled at her before scooping her up into his arms in a huge tight hug. "God, I've missed you so much sweetheart. I'm so glad you came."

Allison tightened her hold on her father. "I've missed you to daddy."

Her father pulled away and once again looked at his daughter up and down. "Look at my baby girl, the Naval Officer. I'm so proud of you."

Alli chuckled at her father. "Not an officer yet dad. I still have a couple years to go."

"It doesn't matter, I'm still so proud of you. I'm still proud of you even though I'm not-"

"Stop, you're my father even if we don't have the same blood. You raised me and took care of me when I was sick, you still loved me even if I wasn't yours. To me you're my father not some man out there that I've never even met."

Alli's heart clenched in her chest when she saw the sadness in his eyes. It was the same sadness and hurt that she had seen in his eyes when her mo-no, when Trisha had told her that John wasn't her father a day before she left for the Academy. They had gotten into a fight once again about her choice of career and of course her father had defended her 100% and was proud that she had chosen to join the Navy. Trisha wasn't as thrilled as he was and just out of spite and to drill a dagger into both their hearts she had blurted out to Alli that she wasn't her father's daughter, and that he had known all along.

Trisha had cheated on him while he had been away on a business trip and had ended up pregnant. John knew all along that Allison wasn't his daughter, but he still loved her like he was his own

The young girl's heart had shattered completely in her chest. Her mother had once again found the way to hurt her. Allison remembered that day clearly, she would never forget it.

Her mother had thought that by telling Allison the truth she wouldn't want anything to do with her father, but her attempts were futile because Allison loved her father more than ever. And now, she knew why her mother hated her so much. She was the product of un-kept promises.

"Come on sweetie, let's go inside it's freezing out here."

She looked at her father as she was pulled back into reality. Allison smiled and nodded as she allowed him to guide her inside the house. She noticed the furniture was different. It didn't surprise her, her mother always had to keep up with the latest trends.

Alli scanned the pictures on the wall. Some were new and some were familiar. Her eyes settled on a recent photo of her baby sister. She was dressed in the latest fashions and around her neck was what looked to be and expensive diamond necklace.

Allison pursed her lips as she looked at the picture disapprovingly. Abby had become the daughter her mother wanted her to be, someone who was superficial and arrogant.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned around and once again saw the sadness in her father's eyes.

"She's becoming more like your mother each day." Her father said.

"I guess since she wasn't successful with me she found someone else to inject her poison in."

The young lady let out a sigh as she continued to scan the pictures in the room. She finally realized that she was in none of the photos. She was no longer part of this family.

"Here let me take your coat." John suggested.

Allison nodded and let her father take her coat. In the moment her father left to hang up her coat, two women walked into the room and Allison's face immediately lit up.

"Aunt Maggie! Grandma!"

Alli was instantly enveloped in the arms of both the women.

"It's so good to see you sweetheart." Her grandmother said.

"It's good to see you too grandma! I've missed you so much."

"Look at my favorite niece in the world, so beautiful in her Navy uniform."

Allison smiled fondly at her Aunt Maggie. Her Aunt, that was her mother's sister didn't let herself get manipulated by her grandmother and led a non-selfish, non-prejudice life and married a wonderful hard working average class man. Maggie was the exact opposite of her sister Trisha.

"Thank you Aunt Mags. How's the family? Uncle Mike? Danny? Matty?-"

"Everyone is doing good, sweetheart. Michael is at the store getting some last few minute things and the kids are with him. Danny is going to come a little later, he has to finish some paperwork from a case he's working on."

"Ah, yes, the great officer Daniel Williams. I bet you and Uncle Mike are so proud of him."

"We are. Michael is especially proud of him. He's only been on the force for a year now and he's done so much good."

"I'm so glad Aunt Maggie."

John came back into the room and all four adults were chatting away when Trisha walked into the room.

"So glad that someone was so courteous to let me know that my daughter had arrived?"

Everyone's smile and happy mood immediately faltered. Allison instantly tensed up at the sound of her mother's voice. It still had the same affect on her that it did 5 years ago.

"Now you remember she's your daughter?" Allison's grandmother chided.

"Mother." John pleaded.

"No, John! What does she think? That she can make this girls life a living hell and still claim to be her mother? Let me tell you something Trisha, you don't know how to be a mother. A mother doesn't do the things you have done to Alli."

"I am really not in the mood to hear any of your sermons, old lady." Trisha stated clearly uninterested in what the older lady had to say.

Allison felt her blood start to boil at the way her mother was treating her grandma, clearly disrespecting her and insulting her. All she wanted to do at the moment was to start yelling at her mother, but all the current military training she was undergoing prevented her from doing so, and remained calm.

"I would really appreciate it if you do not disrespect my grandmother, ma'am."

"Ma'am? Did you just call me ma'am? Quit being ridiculous Allison, I am your mother and you will call me mom not ma'am."

"I'm sorry I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because ma'am, you stopped being my mother the day you sent me away 5 years ago."

Trisha let out a snort. "I can't believe this! You guys are still hung up on that? That was the best thing that I could have done."

"Are you listening to yourself Trisha? You sent your daughter away when she needed you the most. She needed your love and understanding." Maggie said.

"Are you going to start with your sermon of how a wonderful mother you are and how evil of a mother I am? I really don't need you rubbing in your #1 mommy medal in my face." Trisha stated with an eye roll. "If I wouldn't have sent her away she would have ended up with that low life of a boy she met in Miami. Or maybe she would have settled for another low life just so she could go to bed with him. We've all already seen the evidence of that."

Allison was trying really hard not to lay a hand on her mother. She was raised better than that by her father and her commanding officer would kill her if he found out.

"Well you know what they say mommy dearest, like mother like daughter. You of all people should know about getting men into bed."

The anger that flashed across her mother's face sent a volt of pleasure down Allison's spine. It made her feel good to rile up her mother, giving her a taste of her own medicine. In that moment she saw her mother's hand coming towards her face out of the corner of her eye. Alli quickly lifted her hand and stopped her mother from making contact with her face.

Alli tightly wrapped her hand around her mother's wrist, pulling her in close to look her in the eyes. "I told you before that you were never going to lay a hand on me again. I am not your puppet anymore!."

"Let go you're hurting me!"

In that moment another hand wrapped itself around hers. She turned around and was shocked to see her cousin Danny there, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Let go, babe. It's alright, she's not going to hurt you."

She quickly unwrapped her hand from Trisha's wrist and latched on to her cousin. She started to take in quick short breaths, trying to get her heart rate down or she was going to have a panic attack. If her commanding officer saw her now he would be ripping her a new one for losing control so fast.

"She's become an animal!" Trisha complained, rubbing her wrist with her hand. "She nearly tore my hand off!"

"Aunt Trisha, please!" Danny pleaded.

"I don't think that she should be here. Maybe she should leave."

"If she leaves, then we all leave, and that means you will spend Christmas alone." Maggie stated.

"Please, you guys are overreacting!"

Now they were arguing back and forth on who was staying and who was going. Everything was spinning around in Alli's head. She was trying to focus on her cousin's comforting words to keep herself grounded. This was getting to be too much for her. All she wanted to do was come back to Jersey and spend Christmas with her family, but all that was not going to happen.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned their attention to the young officer, clearly shocked at the sudden outburst.

Allison let out a sigh before she continued. "No one is going anywhere." She turned her attention to her mother. "I came here to see them not you. I only came here because of them. Now, we can all stay here and you and I can loathe each other's presence. I don't need to speak to you and you do not need to speak with me at any time. Or your other option, ma'am, is to spend the holidays by yourself. The choice is yours."

Everyone in the room looked at Mrs. Cahill, waiting for her answer. Allison was ready to pick up her duffel bag and head back out the door when her mother's response surprised her.

"Fine, you can stay."

In that moment the front door opened allowing the rest of the family to tumble in, fits of laughter filling up the tense house. Within seconds Allison spotted her sister and smiled. She looked so mature, getting ready to graduate in the next year.

Abigail spotted her at once and answered her with a smile of her own. She instantly ran over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much Alli, I'm so glad that you came!"

"I've missed you to Abby."

Both sisters pulled apart and Abby turned her attention to her cousin. "Hey Danny, It's good to see you."

"Hey Abs."

It was then that Abigail noticed the tension in everyone in the room. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Abs. Everything's fine." Her cousin answered. "Let's go Alli, babe. Go get changed into something more comfortable."

Danny grabbed her duffel bag and guided her up the stairs to her old bedroom. Once inside the room he closed the door behind them. He turned around and found Alli peering out her window absentmindedly. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"I didn't mean to-" Allison started.

"It's ok Alli. You didn't hurt her and we all know that you would never hurt her intentionally."

"I can't do this anymore, Danny. I can't come back here and act like nothing is wrong, at least not if she's around. I don't think that I can keep coming here."

Allison looked at her cousin, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "Come here." Danny wrapped her up in his arms and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "All right, that's enough with the tear fest. Let me see that thousand watt smile that lights up those baby blues."

His cousin rewarded him with that smile he requested only he could see the many years of sadness radiating out of her eyes. "Why don't you tell me about the Navy? Find any sailor you like?"

Allison chuckled at her cousins humor. "No, not really. All my fellow sailors are arrogant jackasses."

"Not really? Does that mean that there is someone you've possibly set your eye on?"

"No Danny, Steve is just a really good friend. He's kind of kept all those grabby guys in check."

"Oh Steve is it? Well this Steve guy sounds like a good guy."

"He is a good guy. It's just too bad that I already gave my heart away 5 years ago."

Allison gave her cousin a said smile. Daniel scooped her up in her arms and hugged her tightly. "You're going to fine. You'll forget him one day. One day he'll figure out that he let a very special girl get away."

They pulled apart and Danny cradled her tear stained face in his hands. "Now, wipe away those tears. I'll let you get changed, 'cause your grandma is going to have dinner ready soon and you know how she gets when we're late sitting at the table."

"Ok."

Danny turned to leave, but he was stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. "Thank you Danny, for everything."

Danny gave her a soft smile and placed a kiss on her cheek. "No problem babe, anything for my favorite cousin."

He gave her one last squeeze to her hand and left the room. Once he left the room Allison went and stood at the window. Her thoughts automatically went to one person. Ryan. After all these years she hadn't been able to get him out of her head. He's always on her mind. Many times she'd wanted to go and look for him, but she didn't know where to start. All she knew was that he was from Boston and Boston was a big city.

She kept looking out the window for a few more minutes. She couldn't wait until tonight and the moon came out. The moon was her only friend at night. She would imagine that Ryan would be looking at the same moon. She would sit and talk to the moon imagining that Ryan would be talking back to her, or maybe she was a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?


	8. Talking to the Moon

**A/N:** Again sorry this is so late. I'm still going with this and I hope everyone is still with me.

Also looking for a possible BETA on this story.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I own nothing except for the few extra characters.

_I know you're somewhere out there, somewhere far away. I want you back. I want you back. My neighbors think I'm crazy, but they don't understand. You're all I had. You're all I had. At night when the stars light up my room, I sit by myself, talking to the moon. Trying to get to you. In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too. Or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon?_

_~Talking to the Moon-Bruno Mars_

5 years later-Ryan

Ryan finished throwing his last t-shirt into his duffel bag and zipped it up. Before closing his locker he ran his finger along the one picture he had of Allison. Tonight he would talk to her again. Tonight he would talk to the moon.

Walking out of the locker room he rounded the corner where he greeted the wave of hellos directed his way by his fellow officers. Even though he was fresh out of the academy he had already made a number of friendships with his new co-workers.

He quickly put on his jacket, scarf, and gloves before stepping out into the bitter cold of December. Throwing his bag over his shoulder he looked at his watch and sighed in relief. He just had a little bit more than enough time to go to the store before it closed to grab a bottle of wine to bring to his parents house for dinner, then head over to his apartment to change.

As he turned to walk down the crowded Boston street a huge moving mass crashed right into him, almost knocking him down.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

Ryan turned to find a tall dark haired man standing over him. Even though the man looked sincerely apologetic, Ryan couldn't help but glare at him none the less.

"I'm alright, no big deal." Ryan responded.

"I'm seriously sorry. I was trying to find this place, Union Bar. The hotel clerk said it was around here."

Ryan huffed out a laugh. "Yeah it's just down about 3 blocks, if you want to spend half your paycheck on only a couple of beers."

"So what you're saying is that the clerk sent me to an expensive bar so I could stupidly spend all my money on cheap beer because I'm not from around here?"

"That's pretty much it."

"Well that's just great."

Ryan finally took pity on the man. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere where the beer is cheap but good quality."

The man was a little hesitant at first, but then noticed the Boston PD logo on the duffel bag and decided to take the offered help. Once inside the car Ryan extended his hand to shake the man's hand. "Ryan Wolfe."

"Steve McGarrett."

Steve looked out the window at the scenery before he broke the awkward silence. "So you're a cop?"

"Yeah, fresh out of the academy. How 'bout you? Navy?

Steve snorted while he looked down at his left sleeve where Ryan was looking at, which had his rank. "What gave it away? The jacket or the Navy death glare."

"Definitely the death glare."

They both laughed and talked about their careers in the short amount of time it took them to arrive at their destination.

"Well here it is. I hope that you know how to get back to your hotel?"

"Probably not, but I think I can manage."

"Alright, and I don't want to come back here on a disturbance call"

Steve gave him a mock salute. "Aye, Aye, officer. I'll try my best to behave."

The dark haired man was about to close the door right before he had an idea. "Hey why don't you come in and have a drink with me. It's the least I can do to repay you the favor."

"Nah, man. It's alright. I still have to hit the store before I head to my parents house."

"Come on, just one drink. I promise you won't be late."

Ryan thought about it for a few seconds before he shut off the engine and got out of the car. After the day he had, he could use a drink.

Once inside they got rid of their coats and found two seats at the bar. They ordered a couple of beers and settled into a nice easy flowing conversation, which in turn led to more than having one beer to release the stress.

"So, obviously you don't have a wife or girlfriend back home because you wouldn't be here in Boston having beers with a complete stranger, but what I don't understand is, why? Why are you here, if you have the option to go back to a tropical paradise?"

"It's complicated. My father and I are not exactly on speaking terms right at the moment. A mean yeah, I talk to him and let him know I'm doing well and to see how he's doing, but ever since he sent me and my sister away after my mom died it's never been the same between us."

"Man, that's rough. My parent's and I a pretty close. I don't know if I could deal with a situation like that if it ever happened to me."

"Yeah well, you learn do deal I guess. Anyways I would much rather be heading to where I'm headed rather than going back home to spend Christmas with the family." Steve stated.

"Oh yeah, and where are you headed?"

"Jersey."

"Jersey? What's in Jersey?"

"The most beautiful woman in the world." Steve stated matter of fact.

"Oh, so there is a potential Mrs. McGarrett?"

Steve chuckled before answering. "I wouldn't go that far into saying that. We're just friends and I wanted to surprise her."

"Wait, she doesn't know your coming? Are you a stalker that I should be arresting right now?"

"No, I am not a stalker!" McGarrett scuffed. "I just figured she could use a friendly face when she's on leave. She really didn't want to go home. Her relationship with her family isn't exactly perfect and I just wanted to provide moral support."

Ryan busted out laughing. "Does that really work?"

Steve narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He really didn't see anything funny in what he had just said. "Does what really work?"

"The whole 'I'm here to provide you with moral support' scheme."

"Scheme? It's not a scheme."

"Yeah, whatever you say. So, does this beautiful woman have a name?"

McGarrett opened his mouth but was quickly cut off when Ryan's cell phone started beeping.

"Wolfe...Mom!" Ryan looked at his watch and cursed himself. He was already an hour late for dinner. "Ma, I'm so sorry. I was helping someone find their way...Yeah I'm on my way..." Ryan looked over at his new friend and saw the loneliness he felt etched all over his face.

"Hey mom, would you mind if I bring a guest over for dinner tonight?" McGarrett looked up from where he was picking off the label of his beer bottle and eyed the officer with narrowed eyes of confusion.

Ryan ignored the look on the dark haired man's face. "Yeah mom, we'll be there." The officer looked at the bottle in his hand and thought about how many of those he just drank. "Um, do you think you could send Al to come and get us?"

Steve couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the berating rant coming from the other end of the line when Ryan told his mother where they were located.

"Ok, we'll wait here. Mom, I'm a police officer, don't you think I know I'm not supposed to drive under the influence?...Alright, bye mom."

Ryan ended the call and looked over at the naval officer who had a raised eyebrow. "Shut up, don't even say anything. Let's go wait outside."

"Whatever you say."

Both men headed outside and waited patiently for about ten minutes for Alice to come. Finally a silver car pulled up alongside the curb in front of where they were standing. Alice rolled down the passenger side window and craned her neck to look at her brother and his new friend.

"You so owe me for this big brother."

"Whatever you say Al. How 'bout we call it even and I don't tell mom and dad about the day I had to pick you up when you snuck out of the house without their permission."

"Fine, deal. Get in."

Ryan went to open the back door for the Naval officer but caught the look of confusion on the sailor's face.

"What?"

"Al's a girl?"

"Yeah, her name is Alice. Al for short." Ryan explained.

"Are you guys getting in or what? Mom's waiting for us."

Ryan rolled his eyes and opened the door for the dark haired man before gesturing towards the back seat. Steve obliged and tucked himself into the back seat while Ryan sat in the passenger seat.

Alice turned to formally greet her brother's new friend, then she got a good glimpse of him and saw how handsome he was.

"Hi, Steve McGarrett."

The man extended his hand in greeting which Alice kindly took. "More like Steve McHottness."

The sailor snorted at the name while Ryan rolled his eyes once again. "I apologize on behalf of my sister. She's not always exactly there. If you know what I mean."

Al stuck her tongue out at her brother and scowled at him. "Why do you always have to embarrass me?"

"You do that all on your own little sis. Plus, he's too old for you."

"I'm 18."

"And he's .." Ryan turned to look at the man in the backseat.

"22." Steve helpfully supplied.

"There, he's 22, old enough to be your big brother. Just like me."

"He could go for younger girls."

Ryan snorted. "He could, and that's perfectly alright, but just not you."

"Why not."

"Because I said so. No one that old is coming near my baby sister." Ryan glanced one more time towards the back. "No offense."

"Non-taken. Plus, no offense miss but I don't go for younger girls."

Alice turned and looked at Steve through narrowed eyes. Steve suddenly felt 5 times smaller. How an 18 year old petite girl could make him feel like that was beyond him. "Whatever, let's just go because mom's already having a meltdown because her little baby boy hasn't made it home yet, God forbid."

Ryan couldn't help but chuckle at the look of disbelieve on the sailor's features. "She doesn't take rejection to well."

"Shut up!" Alice swerved the car violently into traffic and headed home.

After about 15 minutes they arrived at the Wolfe residence. All three occupants got of the vehicle and headed into the home.

"Mom, your baby's home with his hot new army friend." Alice yelled into the house.

"Actually it's Navy." Steve corrected.

"Doesn't make a difference. You're still hot." Al winked at him and happily strutted away.

Steve laughed to himself and shook his head. That girl was something else. She reminded him so much of his own little sister, Mary. God, how much his missed her.

At that moment a mid aged woman come into the living room. "Oh Ry, thank heavens you're here. I was so worried when you didn't get here. You're always so punctual."

"I know Ma, I'm sorry. I just got a little side tracked. Here, I'd like you to meet Steve McGarrett. He's here on leave and I was giving him directions, but then we just lost track of time talking."

"It's so nice to meet you ma'am." Steve greeted.

"Oh such a handsome young boy. Please call me Sam. Now, head into the dining room. Dinner is ready and I don't want it to get cold." Samantha ushered both men into the dining room were Mr. Wolfe and Alice were already seated.

Ryan introduced Steve to his father and then they started on their dinner. Everyone had a pleasant time eating and talking. Steve and Mr. Wolfe talking about the Navy and about Steve becoming a SEAL. Mrs. Wolfe still didn't approve of such a dangerous profession, but stated that she was proud of the young man just like she was proud of Ryan becoming a police officer.

Steve had to fight back tears at hearing such appraisal from the older woman. It made him feel good. He didn't know how much he longed to hear those words from a motherly figure. Even if it was for a few moments he felt like he was part of a family again.

After the night's events Samantha insisted that it was too late for McGarrett to go back to the hotel so she set him up in the guest bedroom.

Ryan retreated to his old bedroom and closed the door behind him. He walked to his window and peered up to the moon that was shining bright in the night sky. Even though being surrounded by his family helped him forget about the one thing that was missing from his life, he still had her in his heart. He still couldn't wait till he got back to his room to sit and talk to the moon. He would do it every night and pretended that she was listening. He pretended that she still loved him and that she didn't leave him there waiting for her 5 years ago.

But, who was he kidding?

He was just a fool who sat alone talking to the moon.


	9. Forgivness and Guilt

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who is reading and the new readers also. This chapter is kind of long but I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: Miami, nor am I making any money out of this.

_Forgive, sounds good. Forget, I'm not sure I could. They say time heals everything. But, I'm still waiting. I'm through with doubt. There's nothing left for me to figure out. I've paid a price. And I'll keep paying. I'm not ready to make nice. I'm not ready to back down. I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time to go round and round and round. It's too late to make it right. I probably wouldn't if I could. Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should. I know you said, can't you just get over it? It turned my whole world around and I knida like it._

_~Not Ready to Make Nice-Dixie Chicks_

10 years later

Allison looked down at the mound of dirt before her. She tried to feel some sort of emotion, but she couldn't. She was completely numb on the inside. Even now that her mother was dead and buried she couldn't bring herself to feel anything. No sadness. No forgiveness. No grief. Nothing. It was if she was completely hallow inside.

The young girl turned and looked at her loved ones that were around her. Her Aunt Mags was crying in grief. Even after all the things that Trisha said and did she still loved her and was mourning the loss of a sister. Abs was crying uncontrollably. She was the one that had cried the most when they had diagnosed their mother with the deadly illness. Allison felt bad for not feeling the same way her sister did, but their mother didn't do the same things to her that she had done to Allison. All she could do was hug her tight and let her know that she was there for her.

Her father just simply stood there in a catatonic state. Allison didn't know what was going through his mind or what exactly he was feeling. Just like her, Trisha had caused him harm, but she knew that her father loved her mother very much. She didn't think he would have stayed by her side after everything that had happened. Jonathon Cahill was a strong man and he was all the father she needed. That's why she knew she had made the right decision on not trying to find her real father.

Allison once more stared at the mound of dirt in front of her. Her mother was gone. Maybe now she could live in peace? The naval officer felt bad for thinking that way, but that is how she felt and she couldn't deny it. A strong sturdy hand gripped her shoulder pulling her out of her musings. She turned to find the solemn blue eyes of her cousin.

"Danny."

"Hey babe, How are you doing?" The officer asked as he pulled his cousin into a hug.

"I'm fine. Just ready to get out of here."

Danny looked at his cousin skeptically.

"What?" Allison asked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Look Danny, if you waiting for me to break down into a weeping ball of grief, it's not going to happen. I may seem and look like a cold heartless bitch, but I'm fine with that. She made me into what I am today. So, you can stop fretting over me. I'm fine."

"Ok. Fine, but come here." Danny said opening his arms to embrace her.

"D, I said I was fine."

"I know you did but I still want to give my favorite cousin another hug." He said with a smile on his face.

Allison smirked at him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you Danny. I miss you so much."

"I miss you to Ali, but you seem to forget about us mere civilians when you go off and play G.I Jane."

"Says the heroic homicide Detective Danny, you know that when I get called out there are rare chances I get to call home."

"I know, I know. I just want you to be careful. I want Grace to grow up knowing her Aunt Ali, please."

Ali smiled at the mention of little Gracie. "How is my little Gracie? I hope I get to see her before I head back."

"She's doing fine. Growing up fast. Can't believe that's she's already a year old. Rachel wants to have a little party for her next month."

The Naval officer rolled her eyes. "Oh good old Rachel. How is the Queen doing?"

"Come on Ali, just stop."

"What? I didn't do anything." Ali stated.

"I know you don't like her, but..."

"Damn right I don't like her. She keeps hassling you over being a cop and you working the hours that you do. She knew damn well what your career was before she married you. So what the hell is the problem now? If she couldn't handle it then why did she marry you? She's just being a hypocrite."

Danny was about to retort but his cell rang. "Detective Williams. Yeah I'll be there."

He hung up and sighed. "I have to go. I got a case."

Allison nodded in understanding. Danny pulled her into a hug and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Just take care of yourself, ok? I love you."

"I love you to. And you be careful to." The Detective gave her one last kiss and headed to his car.

Ali turned to find her family, Abs and her father were talking with some friends of the family. Her aunt Maggie was doing the same with other people. She let out a sigh before looking at the grave one more time and turned to head back to the car.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a familiar face standing beside a tree. What was he doing here? He hadn't seen him years. God he had changed so much in these last few years. His features were a lot more rugged. His eyes seemed more gloomy (probably all the shit they have seen), but they still sparkled in the sun light.

She slowly started walking towards him. He in turn started walking towards her, intending to meet her halfway.

Ali was running through her head what she was going to say to him. What the hell was she supposed to call him now? They finally reached each other and she stood ram rod straight, looking him in the eyes.

"Sir?"

"Ali, I might be your superior now, but we're friends and I don't think that now is the time for formality."

The naval officer pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. "What are you doing here, McGarrett?"

"I heard about your mom, so I asked some favors so I could get here. How are you feeling?"

Allison let out a sigh. If one more person asked her how she was feeling or doing, she was seriously going to shoot them in the face. "Yeah I'm fine." The young woman noticed that her sister was walking towards her and immediately started to tense up. Ali loved her sister but right now she didn't want to speak to her because she knew what she was going to say.

"Ali, it's time to head home. Everyone should be arriving at the house." Abs said.

"Alright, I'll meet you there." Allison answered.

"How?"

"Steve's giving me a ride."

Abigail turned and looked at the man that was standing next to her sister and took in the Naval uniform. He was a handsome man. Her gaze narrowed onto the interlaced hands of the officer and his sister and felt a little relief. Maybe her sister was finally moving on from the heartbreak their mother caused 10 years ago. And maybe that guilty feeling that had been weighing her down could loosen up a bit. She would always regret not walking into that diner and telling Ryan the truth and erasing all the sadness in her sister's eyes.

"That's fine." Abigail said. "But remember that we still need to talk."

"If it's about mom's will I don't want to hear about it."

Abby let out a sigh. "We'll talk about it later, in private."

"Fine. I'll meet you back at the house." With that Allison started walking towards Steve's car, dragging him along with her.

The car ride to her house was silent. It was a comfortable silence. She felt good around him. Steve always made her forget all her problems and all the poignant feelings she harbored inside.

"So what are you, an Admiral now?" Ali questioned.

Steve let out a snort. "I wish, but no. Lieutenant actually."

"Lieutenant! Wow."

"What? Why do you say it like that?" The Lieutenant asked.

"Say it like what?"

"Like your disappointed or something."

"No I'm not disappointed. I just thought that I'd expect more from the infamous crazy ass Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett is all." She teased.

McGarrett had to laugh out loud at that. "Infamous, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean stories is all you really have to go by to let you know that your good friend is doing well and is still alive."

The smile slowly faltered from the SEAL's face. He knew that he caused Allison a lot of pain when he decided to take the offer of becoming a SEAL. He knew that she had felt she was being abandoned again, he himself knew that feeling. She was the only thing that was holding him back from becoming what he had set out to be when he joined the Navy. Steve knew that he was the only one that helped her get through the first years of the academy. That he was the only one that stood beside her and believed in her when everyone else doubted that she could even make it through hell week.

He knew that he had fallen in love with her when he started to question the life altering decision, but he knew that she could never reciprocate his feeling. Allison once told him that she would never fall in love again. She had given her heart away many years ago and she had never gotten it back.

"Allison, I'm sorry. I never meant to leave..."

"Don't Steve. It's alright, I understand. I know how the Navy is. You get tied up on missions and training that you don't even get 2 seconds to make a simple phone call. I'm really happy that you're becoming the best damn Navy SEAL the world has ever seen and that I can say that damn crazy as SEAL is my best friend and I owe my life to him."

Steve felt his chest tighten at every word his friend said to him. It took a lot of strength for him not let himself cry. He reached over and took Allison's hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. A silent gesture to let her knew that he was still there and he was never going to let her go.

"So tell me Lieutenant, did you really chase a guy down with a helicopter?"

McGarrett responded with a shit eating grin which was all the confirmation that Allison needed. The young woman chuckled to herself as she listened to her friend's wild stories hearing something along the lines of "Chuck Norris wannabe" and "it was initiation". She turned to look out the window and continued listening. She had started to get a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same feeling she had gotten a couple of days ago. It came and it went. And every time she would feel it, all she could do was think about Ryan. She hoped that he was alright. Wherever he was.

They finally made it her parent's home. They walked inside and found people already gathered in the home. Allison felt so uncomfortable there. She would rather be anywhere else but there. The hours passed by so slowly and she was getting rather tired of the condolences every 5 minutes. On the up side, she wasn't alone. Steve was doing a great job of keeping her company and distracting her in every way possible.

After a few hours mostly everyone had left, speaking one last time words of sympathy towards the family. Steve and Allison were in her father's study talking quietly about a few more stories about Steve's crazy ways, when Abby walked into the room.

"We need to talk." Abigail said by way of greeting.

"Go ahead, talk." Allison responded.

"Alone, Please."

Steve moved to get up from the couch, but Ali stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Anything that you need to say you can say it in front of him. I trust him."

"I can go.." Steve started.

"No Steve, you're gonna stay." Ali stated.

Abs let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine. I need to know when your leave ends so we can set a date to read mom's will."

"Abby, I already told you that I don't want any part of that."

"But she could have left you something."

"I don't have any need for it, nor do I want anything that came from her."

"You may not need it but S..."

"No! I don't want it."

"Why do you have to be so selfish? Why can't you just put aside your pride and forget everything, and forgive mom?" Abby demanded.

Steve could see the flash of anger that crossed Allison's eyes. He quickly went to settle a hand on her arm to calm her down before she exploded. He had seen her once before go crazy on another fellow Naval officer for pissing her off. But, it was too late, her sister had already pushed the button that was clearly labeled "DANGER, DO NOT PUSH!". There was nothing he could do, the fire was already ignited.

"Why am I so selfish? Proud?" Allison growled. "Excuse me, where you not there when she treated me like shit, like I was nothing, like I wasn't even her daughter?" Allison could feel the tears stinging in the back of her eyes.

"How dare you call me selfish and proud? It was me being selfish and proud that got me through all these years, that kept me alive. You have no right! You have no right to demand me to forgive and forget. I don't need to forgive her for ruining my life all because she had a sudden change of conscience when she found out she was dying. Forgiveness has to be earned and as far as I'm concerned, she never earned it. So don't come to me with this self righteous act and tell me I'm too proud to forgive my own mother."

"It's been 10 years Allison."

Ali laughed sadistically. "Don't you think I know how long it's been? Don't you think I counted the hours, the minutes, since the day she sent me away? My life hasn't been as peachy keen as yours has been."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Abby demanded.

"Exactly as it sounds." Allison answered.

"That isn't fair Ali, and you know it."

"Don't talk to me about fair!"

Steve saw that this argument was getting out of hand. Allison was fuming with anger right now and it wasn't the great moment for Abby to try and reason with her. He quickly stepped in between the two sisters and cupped Ali's face, causing her to look at him.

"I'm sorry but, I really don't think that this is the right time and place to have this conversation."

"I totally agree. As a matter of fact I don't think that it will ever be the right time or place." Allison retorted.

She grabbed her coat and stormed out of the room. Steve went to follow her but was stopped when he felt a hand on his bicep. He turned to meet the pleading sad eyes of Allison's sister.

"Please take care of her. I know that she has been through a lot and I just want her to be happy. I know that you love her, I can see it in your eyes. Maybe you can help her forget. Please, just take care her."

Steve rested his hand on top of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. With a courteous nod of the head he turned and left the room. He didn't know if he could help her forget him, but all he could do was try.

~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~

_You used to call me your angel. Said I was _sent straight down from heaven. You'd hold me close in your arms. _I loved the way you felt so strong. I never wanted you to leave. I wanted you to stay here holding me. I miss you. I miss your smile. And I still shed a tear every once in a while. And even though it's different now you're still here somehow. My heart won't let you go and I need you to know I miss you. I miss you._

_~I miss you-Miley Cyrus_

Ryan took a deep breath before he slowly opened the door to his parent's home and ushered his little sister inside. He closed the door behind them and turned to find his sister starring aimlessly into the living room. God it killed him to see her like this. He slowly walked up to her and turned her to face him.

Ryan delicately brushed away a few escaped tears and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Why don't you go upstairs and change while I make us something to eat?"

Al nodded and headed towards the stairs while Ryan headed to the kitchen. He opened up the fridge and looked inside for a couple of seconds when his eyes landed on the small birthday cake that was meant to be eaten after a fun night out. Wolfe quickly closed the door and leaned his forehead against the cold surface. They were supposed to be celebrating their mother's birthday not burying her.

He quickly wiped away all the stray tears from his face and decided to go check on his sister. The officer quietly knocked on her door and waited for her to open. When she didn't answer he decided to go in. He cautiously opened the door and poked his head in.

"Al?"

Ry looked around her room and didn't find her. He went back out into the hallway to check in the bathroom when he heard a whimper coming in the direction of their parent's bedroom. Wolfe silently walked into the room and found his sister sitting on the floor against the bed holding a picture frame in her hands. Ryan new who was in the picture, he didn't need to look at it, it had been sitting on his mom's dresser for 3 years.

"Alice, didn't I tell you to come..." Ryan started.

"It's my fault their dead." Alice blurted out.

"What?"

"I shouldn't have.."

Ryan swiftly moved to sit on the floor next to his sister. "Don't! Don't you dare blame yourself for this. What happened is not your fault."

"Yes it was Ry!" The young girl was now sobbing. "It's my fault. If I hadn't kept badgering them that they needed to go out and not be sitting at home they wouldn't have been there."

The young man took his sisters fragile face in between his hands and made her look at him. "Listen to me, this is not your fault. You could have never predicted that there was going to be an accident. This is not your fault, you hear me. Not your fault." Ryan cradled sister in his arms and rubbed her back soothingly while she cried into his shoulder.

Their parent's had gone out to dinner to celebrate their mother's birthday and where on their way home, only they never made it back home. They had been hit by a drunk driver while going through an intersection. The car had done numerous turns when it finally had landed upside down a few feet away from the initial accident. The medical examiner's report had stated that their mother had died on impact, she had taken the blunt of the blow, while their father's neck had been broken in one of the flips.

Ryan held his sister tighter in his arms. Truth be told, he blamed himself for his parent's death. He kept thinking that maybe if he hadn't gone to live in Miami, then maybe they would have gone somewhere else or maybe not had gone out at all. But, this was something that neither him or sister could ever change. Now they both had to live with the "what ifs."

He slowly unwrapped himself from his sister and pulled her away. "Al, I don't want you blaming yourself for mom and dad's deaths. They wouldn't want you doing that. I know that they don't blame you and I don't blame you, no one blames you. Ok?"

Alice nodded in understanding as tears kept tricking down her face. "I know that you're hurting and it's going to take a long time to heal from this, but I'm here for you, ok?" She nodded once again in response.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Alice with her head on his shoulder, before he decided to break the silence. "I was thinking that maybe you should come and live in Miami with me, what do you think?" Ryan asked.

"What about the house? Their things?"

Ryan hadn't really thought about it. All he knew is that he couldn't leave his baby sister here alone to grief by herself. As much as he wanted to come back to Boston, he could never bring himself to do it. He had finally gotten a job as a CSI and it was a career change that he had been wanting for a long time. His boss, Horatio, had told him to take as much time as he needed, but he couldn't take advantage of his generosity, he needed to get back to work as soon as possible.

The CSI looked around the room and sighed. He had spent the majority of his life in this house and was filled with all the happy memories he and his family had made together.

"Well we could keep it? Come back for the holidays? The mortgage is paid, the house is ours. There is no reason for us to sell it. What do you think?" Ryan looked at his sister expectantly.

The same as her brother, Alice looked around the room and then looked at the picture of her parents that lay on her lap. She slowly trailed her finger down the glass of the frame. After a few seconds she looked up at her brother. "Yeah I'll go live with you."

"Ok."

Ryan wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulder allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Tomorrow they would go and start the paperwork for Alice to transfer to Miami U. He also needed to find something that was bigger than his one bedroom apartment. They were going to get through this. They had to, they only had each other now.


	10. We Meet Again

**A/N:** Here's the chapter you've been waiting for. This takes place awhile after Walter joined the team and Molly stayed as a lab tech (I think her name was Molly).

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: Miami. No Money is being made of this.

_I heard that you're settled down. That you found a girl and you're married now. I heard that your dreams came true. Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you. Old friend, why are you so shy? Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light. I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited. But, I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it. I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded that for me, It isn't over. Never mind, I'll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don't forget me, I begged, I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love, but It hurts instead. You know how the times flies. Only yesterday was the time of our lives. We were born and raised in a summer haze. Bound by the surprise of our glory days._

16 years later

Allison took a deep breath as she continued to sit in her car starring at the building in front of her. She had never been so nervous about starting a new job, not even when she enlisted in the Navy. The officer wished that either Steve or Danny were there to reassure her that everything was going to alright, but she had not heard from Steve in a about a year and she had stopped hearing from Danny since he left Jersey six months ago.

She didn't know why she was so nervous about coming here. Granted she was a little skeptical to call Lieutenant Caine when she had decided to transfer in to the reserves and move to Miami. She really didn't know the man. All she knew was that he had been an old friend of her mother. Neither Abs or her father had known who he was nor had they seen him before, but something drew her to the older man like a magnet. She felt a certain connection that she couldn't explain to the Lieutenant.

"Quit being such a baby." Allison chastised herself.

Letting out one last deep breath she quickly got out of the car and locked it up. Breathing in the warm Miami air always made her remember that magical night on the beach where she had slept in Ryan's arms. She couldn't believe that it had been 16 years already. It seemed like it was just yesterday that she was here in this city.

Pushing all those beautiful memories to the back of her head she entered the elevator and took it to the 3rd floor. When she arrived onto the floor she let the officer at the desk know who she was.

"Please Ms. Cahill, take a seat. Lieutenant Caine will be right down to meet you."

Gratefully thanking the officer she took a seat and took in her surroundings. She was surprised that the lab was so big. She thought the glass walls gave it a touch of elegance. Allison started to feel a little more relaxed as she sat and waited. Everything was going to fine.

"It's so good to see you again Ms. Cahill."

Allison turned to see Horatio looking at her with his piercing blue eyes. "It's good to see you too Lieutenant. Please, call me Ali."

Horatio smiled at her. "Alright, only if you call me Horatio."

"Alright, it's a deal."

"Great, let's go so that you could meet the rest of the team."

She nodded in conformation and followed her new boss through the lab until they arrived in a room where she found a group of people gathered at a table talking quietly.

"Ladies, Gentlemen." Horatio greeted. "I'd like you all to meet Allison Cahill. She's the new CSI on our team."

A petite blond was the first to stand and introduce herself. "It's so great to finally meet you. My name's Calleigh, welcome to the team."

"Thank you."

"And I'm Natalia. Horatio has said many good things about you. It's good to have you with us."

Allison smiled at the brunette and turned to eye her boss. How did Horatio have good things to say about her if he barely knew her. All he knew was that she was in the Navy, nothing more.

"Hi, I'm Eric." A dark haired man greeted. "When Horatio mentioned you were a Junior Lieutenant in the Navy I was expecting this tough looking woman."

Ali snorted before taking the Latino's hand. "And I don't look tough to you?"

Panic quickly flashed across the CSI's face. "Uh, no! That's not...Um, I didn't mean.."

"It's alright, Eric. I know what you meant." Allison laughed.

"Excuse him, he tends to put his foot in his mouth quite often." The tall African American said, earning a glare from his co-worker. "I'm Walter. It's nice to meet you. And by the way, I think you look very tough." He said with a wink.

Allison let out a chuckle. This team was great. They seemed to get along well and it was obvious that they cared about each other like a family.

"Allison there is still one more member of the team for you to meet but right now he's in court. Meanwhile I'll give you a tour of the lab." Horatio said. "Eric have you ran the fingerprints that we found on the window in the Johnson house?"

"No H, but I'll get you those results as soon as I can." The CSI answered.

"Good. Ali, follow me."

Ali smiled at her boss and followed him out of the room. She was starting to feel more at ease. Everything was going to be alright.

~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~

A few hours later Ryan finally made it back to the crime lab after an excruciating 2 hours in court waiting to testify. He couldn't wait to dive into a new case. Coming off the elevator he saw Eric coming out of the fingerprint lab.

"Hey man, did I miss anything big?" Ryan asked.

"No not really. We did meet the new girl." Eric answered.

"Oh yeah, she was in the military right?"

"Yeah, and she's kinda cute man."

Ryan laughed at Eric's comment, always the ladies man. "Don't let Calleigh hear you say that, I think you want your man hood intact."

"You're probably right."

"So where's this kinda cute military newbie?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. H, was giving her a tour of the lab. Oh look they're right over there." Eric said while pointing to the elevator.

Ryan turned to look in the direction Eric pointed to. All of a sudden it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. It couldn't be her? Could it? He was sure that he would never see her again. She looked so different.

"Allison?"

"You know her?" Eric asked.

"I did, a long time ago." The CSI answered before he started walking towards the person he thought was the love of his life.

His heart was pounding with each step that he took. This had to be a dream. This couldn't be real. "Allison?" He was greeted by the beautiful ocean blue eyes that he fell in love with 16 years ago.

Ali's heart stopped beating the moment her eyes met his. She felt like she couldn't breathe. He was standing right in front of her. This had to be some sort of a dream. "Ryan?"

They stood staring at each other in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. After 16 years neither of them had anything to say. Ryan desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, to pull her close to him and wrap her up in his arms. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to ask her why she left him the way she did.

"I see that you've become a cop like you've always wanted." Allison said, breaking the awkward silence.

This was definitely not the conversation he wanted to be having right now. He wanted to know why she hadn't shown up at the diner that summer so many years ago. Instead he decided that maybe it was a conversation that they should have in private, if they ever got the chance.

"Yeah, it took a lot of hard work, but I did it."

"Good, I'm really proud of you."

Allison was so surprised that she could have this discussion with him without her voice cracking. She was more surprised that she didn't just kiss him. After all these years she still loved him. She still loved him even after he left that fateful day of the most amazing summer of her life. Now was her chance to ask him why he never showed, if he ever loved her.

"Ry, why.."

At that moment she was interrupted by blond that walked up to them wrapping her arm around his. A surge of jealousy spiked through Allison's body.

"Hey Ryan, we still going out for lunch?" The blond asked.

Ryan slipped out his trance. "Yeah, um sure."

They fell into another awkward silence. All 3, starring at each other. Ryan finally caught on that the 2 women didn't know each other. "Um, Molly this is Allison Cahill, the new CSI on the team. Allison this is Molly she works in trace, um she's also my uh, my..."

Ali didn't miss the reaction that flickered across the lab tech's face at the mention of her name. There was no doubt that she had been spoken about to her. Curiosity fluttered in the CSI. She wondered what Ryan had told Molly about her.

The blond extended her hand to the new CSI. "I'm also his fiancé. It's nice to meet you."

If Allison didn't believe that her heart was broken before she knew that it was now. Now it was a reality that she had lost Ryan forever. Her eyes moved from Molly to Ryan for confirmation. He couldn't even look at her.

With built up courage Allison took the hand that was offered to her. "It's nice to meet you Molly. Congratulations on your engagement. I wish you two the best."

"Thank you." said Molly. "Ryan and I are so in love."

Allison smiled grimly at them. She needed to get out of there fast. She couldn't bear to be there one second more. At that moment she felt a sturdy hand on her shoulder.

"Allison, I see that you've met the last member of our team." Their boss stated.

"Yes Horatio I did."

"That's good. Well, how about you dip your toes into the water. Calleigh got a call out at Biscayne Bay. How 'bout you join her?"

"Of course Lieutenant." Allison turned to head towards the elevator.

"Allison." Horatio said.

The CSI turned to face her boss. "Yes Sir?"

"Please call me Horatio." The Lieutenant said with a smile.

Ali smiled at the older man. "Sorry Horatio, force of habit."

The brunette turned her gaze to the other CSI, making her heart ache. She swiftly turned and headed towards the elevator once again. The metal doors finished closing and all the emotions that Allison felt came pouring out as she started sobbing against the elevator wall. This is why she was feeling so nervous before she came here. She had felt something weird at the pit of her stomach and now she knew what that feeling was.

Never in a million years had she thought that she would see him again. As the elevator neared the first floor she began to wipe her tear streaked face. Taking a deep breath as the doors opened she carefully walked out into the lobby. She needed to do her job and not let these emotions get in the way. No matter how much it hurt she had to push everything she felt aside.

Ryan watched the double metal doors close. He had to get out of there. The CSI swiftly turned and headed towards the break room. He pressed his forehead against the cold wall in the room and let out a deep breath. Ryan felt so dizzy, everything was spinning around him.

"Are you ok?"

The brunette turned to find his fiancé looking at him with concern. "Yeah babe, I'm fine. Just felt a little dizzy for a second." Ryan responded running his hands through his hair.

"She's the Allison you told me about, isn't she?"

The man turned to look at his future wife and saw the fear of losing him in her eyes and if he was honest with himself he didn't know if she was going to keep him.

"She is Mol, but you don't have anything to worry about." Ryan said as he walked over to envelope her in his arms. "Her being here isn't going to change anything between us. I promise you."

The young woman nodded in confirmation and kissed her love on the lips. Ryan held his girlfriend tight, but all he could think about was the love he lost.

~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI

The day was winding down to an end and Ryan was heading to the locker room to gather his belongings. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Allison all day. The officer was not even able to speak or even see her all day.

He swiftly turned the corner into the locker room but was stopped dead in his tracks. There was his angel slipping off her top shirt, leaving on only a camisole. Ryan took a step forward and reached out with one hand, intending to touch her but pulled back at the last second. Only when he pulled back he caught the glimpse of a tattoo on her right shoulder. A beautiful angel painted her skin and in one of the wings the name 'Sam' was visible.

Who the hell was Sam? Was it some guy that she considered to be her angel? It made him livid to think that someone was touching his girl. He needed to know who this Sam guy was. In that moment their co-worker entered the room.

"Hey man there you are. I was looking all over for you." The Cuban said by way of greeting as he clapped Ryan in the back.

Allison turned around startled by her intruders. "God, you guys scared me." She shrieked.

"Sorry Allison." Eric apologized. "I thought you Navy guys had no fear?"

"Us Navy guys? Wow you do put your foot in your mouth a lot."

Eric chuckled. "Yeah I guess I do. But, hey why don't you come and have a drink with us. According to Calleigh you've earned it today. And judging by that bandage on your hand, I'd say she's right."

Ali turned to look at Ryan who hadn't relinquished his gaze off of her. She would love more than anything to start bonding with her new co-workers but she really needed to get home.

"Thanks, but I think I'm gonna have to request a rain check for tonight." The Newbie responded as she slipped on a new shirt.

"Oh come on. What is the hubby at home waiting?"

"You're funny Eric. I'll see you guys later." With one last wave and one last glance over at Ryan, Allison grabbed her bag and exited the locker room.

She quickly made her way to the elevator. Once outside she got to her and got in driving off in the direction of home. The officer couldn't wait to get home. The one important person in her life was waiting for her to get home.

Allison made it in record time back to her house. She put her car in park and walked to her front door, putting in the key in the lock she quietly pushed the door open and walked in closing the door behind her.

"Sam honey I'm home. Where are you?"

"In the dining room." Came the response.

She followed the voice into the room and smiled when she saw her baby sitting at the table.

"Mom, what happened to your hand?" The teen asked making her way to where her mother was standing.

"It's nothing sweetheart. I just had a little run in with a perp that was yielding a knife is all."

"God you say it so casually. Like it happens every day."

"Well hopefully it doesn't." Allison said as she kissed her daughter on the head. "Now did you eat already?"

"Yeah, I left you a plate in the microwave. I made chicken alfredo." Sam said as she sat back down to resume doing her homework.

"Mmmm, sounds delicious and I'm starving."

Allison left her daughter to her studies and headed to the kitchen to heat up her dinner. As she stared at the plate rotating in the microwave she kept thinking on how she was going to keep Sam a secret from Ryan.

Ryan could not find out under any circumstances that he had a teenage daughter. She supposed that she could just tell him but then she would have to tell Sam that she had lied to her and father wasn't really dead.

"Why did I tell her that?" She asked herself.

The answer was simple. Allison had thought that Ryan had left her 16 years ago and she didn't not want to tell her daughter that her father abandoned her. If he didn't want to know about Allison back then, who's to say that he wanted to do anything with his daughter now.

The beeping of the microwave pulled Allison from her musings. Heaving out a sigh she collected her plate and headed back into the dining room. Ryan must never know about Sam.


	11. Change for Survival That Can't be Fixed

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who is reading and the new readers also. This chapter is kind of long but I hope you guys like it. Sorry it took so long.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: Miami, nor am I making any money out of this.

_There's a story behind every person. There's a reason why they're the way they are. They aren't just like that because they want to. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it's impossible to fix them. _

_~Unknown_

"Sam, breakfast is ready." Allison yelled up the stairs.

"Coming, mom."

Sam looked at herself in the mirror and put the finishing touches on her hair. One last thing was missing. She picked up the necklace that was in her jewelry box and slipped it on over her neck. The teen twirled the heart shaped ring that rested on her chest, alongside her mother's dog tags, in-between her fingers. It was the only thing that she had left of her father, the only thing that made her feel close to him, even though she had never met him before. She didn't even know what he looked like because her mother had no pictures of him.

The only thing that she knew about her father was that his name was Ryan and that he and her mother had met during a summer vacation trip in Miami. Allison had told her that her father had died a short year after she was born. She never understood why her mother didn't have any pictures of him or why she never talked about him if she swore that they were deeply in love.

She never grilled her mother to much about it because she knew how much it hurt her to talk about him. Even though Allison was hardly ever there due to her work in the Navy , she was the only parent she needed and she was proud of her for everything that she had accomplished.

"Samantha Ryan Cahill, I'm not telling you again. You better get down here before the food gets cold."

The teen placed a gentle kiss on the ring and took one more look in the mirror before grabbing her backpack and heading downstairs. She hung her bag on the banister before heading into the dining room were her mother was waiting.

"Geesh mom, I thought that you had transferred into to the reserves?"

"Are you sassing me young lady." Allison mock scolded.

Sam placed a kiss on her moms temple before sitting down next to her. "Absolutely not ma'am, I mean mom."

Ali smiled fondly at her daughter. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she saw how much Sam looked like her father. She had never realized how much she resembled him until this whole week she had worked with him. Sam had his bright green eyes and his contagious smile.

"Mom? Mom? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, honey I'm fine. I was just noticing how much you looked like your dad."

Samantha felt something swell in her chest. Her mother had never said that she had looked like her dad. She had never seen very much resemblance between her and her mom, or anyone from the family. She felt a sense of pride at knowing that she looked a little like him.

"I do?"

"You do. You have his eyes and his beautiful smile. His smile was one of the things that made me fall in love with him. We were happy until-" Allison stopped talking before she said something that she would regret.

Sam noticed the sadness flicker across her mother's face. She knew that it was hard for her to recall painful events of her father's death, but she needed to know how he died. Allison had always refused to tell her how it happened.

"Mom, I know that you don't like talking about it, but I want to know how dad died."

"No! I already told you that it was a violent death and it's not something that you need to know."

"That was a valid excuse when I was ten and immature, but I'm 15 now mom. I think I can handle the details of dad's death."

"I said no."

"Mom-"

"I said no and that's final. Now go and brush your teeth. I'm leaving in 5 minutes." Allison hated to see her daughter's anger directed towards her.

"Thanks, but I think I'll take the bus today. Have a good day at work." Sam spat angrily as she slid the chair back to stand. With one last angry glare she retreated from the dining room and headed to the bathroom.

The CSI sighed as her daughter exited the room. She hated it when she argued with Samantha about Ryan. She wished that she would have just told her the truth, but now it was too late the lie was said and telling the truth would earn her more anger from her daughter.

Sam returned from the bathroom , swiftly grabbed her book bag, and made her way to the front door.

"Sam." Ali tried.

"I gotta go mom, before I miss the bus. I'll see you tonight."

"I love you."

"Me too." Sam said as she walked through the door.

The 'me too' was a stab through the heart. Sam never said 'me too', she would always say 'I love you too'.

"This is just going to be a fantastic day." Allison said sarcastically to herself.

She quickly cleared the table, set the dishes in the dishwasher, and grabbed her bag before heading out the door to head to work. Within 20 minutes she arrived at the crime lab. When she got of the elevator she signed in and headed towards the locker room but was stopped when someone called her name.

Allison turned and saw Molly walking towards her. She let out a sigh of irritation. She had been trying her best to avoid the lab tech, but it seemed that Molly always found a way to come in contact with her and insinuate in a not so subtle way that Ali was there to take Ryan away from her. The CSI was beginning to grow very tired of her.

"Yes, Molly what can I do for you?" Allison asked.

"Have you seen Ryan?"

"No, I don't have the slightest idea where he is. I just walked in."

"Oh, it's just that he didn't come over last night and he didn't call, so I just thought, - With your guys history-"

Ali put her hand up to stop the lab tech's ramblings. "Hold up, wait. First off, it's like you said we had history. It' s like the exact word implies, it's history, like in no more. And second, I'm sick and tired of you trying to insinuate that I'm doing something to take him away from you. Whatever happened between me in Ryan is in the past, it's done and over with."

At that moment Wolfe got off the elevator and walked towards them, noticing the angry expression that Allison was sporting across her face. "What's going on?"

"Oh nothing." Molly replied quickly.

"Yeah Wolfe, nothing. I was just telling your fiancé here that maybe she should put a tracker on your ass, that way maybe she can know where you're at all times. So, that way she doesn't come badgering me asking me where you're at because you didn't come home last night. Like I'm supposed to freaking know where you are outside these lab walls." Ali then turned to Molly. "You should really check the MDPD warehouse for one of those. I hear they work wonders, really good mile radius." And with that she turned on her heels and continued on her route to the locker room.

Allison could hear the faint sound of arguing behind her. She felt slightly guilty for initiating a fight between the couple, but she had had just about enough of Molly's implications. The CSI had to lay her cards out on the table and let them know that she wasn't here to break anyone apart, she was just here to do her job and nothing else. Ryan was in her past, now he was in her present and obviously her future, but only as a co-worker and a friend, if they could put all of their feelings behind them.

She finally reached the locker room and began to put her things inside. The ex-Naval Officer really hoped that her day would get better because if it didn't she knew that she was in for an extremely long day. In that moment she felt someone come in the room behind her. She turned and saw that last person she expected and hoped for.

"I'm really sorry about Molly. She didn't mean to upset you."

Allison let out a sigh. "I know Ryan. And I'm sorry for saying things the way I did. I didn't mean to cause a fight between you two, but I was just getting a little irritated with all her not so subtle comments about you and I."

"It's alright. I've been telling her ever since you came back that I wasn't going to leave her, but she seems to be very insecure about it and she doesn't believe me."

"Well she shouldn't feel insecure. Whatever happened between you and me, it's over, " Allison noticed the sudden flicker of pain that crossed Ryan's face at the mention of there being nothing between them, but she forced herself not to over think it. "you're with her now. You guys are getting married."

"Yeah, it's just," Ryan took in a breathe. "I never expected to see you again."

Allison let out a bitter laugh. "Believe you me, I never expected to see you again either."

"You've changed. You're not the Allison I remembered from all those years ago."

"What? You mean the ignorant, innocent, immature teenager that let everyone lie and trample over her? Yeah, she died and was buried the day I left Miami 16 years ago."

"You-"

"You know what Ryan? I really don't want to talk about it."

Ryan was about to retort when Eric and Calleigh walked in. Allison thanked the heavens above for her co-worker's good timing.

"Hey guys."The southern belle greeted. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a call out at Coral Gables, multiple bodies. Horatio wants the four of us to go."

"Great, I'll ride with Eric." Allison said before she left the room.

The Cuban and the blonde looked at each other with wide eyes then turned to look at Ryan. The CSI simply rolled his eyes and exited the locker room.

"Oookay. " Calleigh said. "That was awkward."

"Tell me about it. Try being in the break room with them when they throwing each other looks." Eric replied. "Something big happened between those two and I'm gonna find out what that was."

"Oh, leave them alone." The blonde chided. "They'll tell us when they're good and ready."

"Don't even try and tell me that you're not the least bit curious about what's going on between those two?"

"Well maybe just a little bit."

"See, I knew it."

The southern belle laughed at her boyfriend as they got onto the elevator to go meet their co-workers.

Each one finally reached their respective Hummers were the other two CSIs were waiting for them. They pulled out of the parking lot, one behind the other, towards the crime scene.

"Sooo," Eric started.

Allison turned and looked at him with a curious raised eyebrow. "So, what?"

"So, you and Wolfe? You guys seem to know each other well."

The brunette let out a sigh and turned to look out of the window. "I thought I knew him."

"So you guys did know each other before you transferred here?" Eric asked.

"I'd rather not talk about Delko."

"I'm just saying that something serious must have happened between you two because ever since you started working at the lab you have been trying your best to avoid him and he has been trying to talk to you, but you won't give him the time of day."

The CSI took a deep breath before she spoke. "Ryan and I met 16 years ago, here in Miami. We were both on a family vacation and we ended up in the same hotel. We started talking and got to know each other, one thing led to another and we started dating. We were happy until my mother decided to cut the vacation short. She didn't care to much for Ryan, so she did everything in her power to try and separate us. Ryan and I were supposed to meet at a diner down the street from the hotel for lunch, but of course I wasn't going to make it, so I sent a letter with my sister, only"

Allison had to pause for a moment. It hurt every time she thought about that day. Whenever she thought about Ryan, and him throwing everything away made her angry.

Eric quickly glanced over at his co-worker. He could see the mixture of pain and anger mingling on her angelic face.

"Only, what?" Eric asked.

"Only, he never showed."

"Maybe he was running late."

Allison turned and gave the other CSI and incredulous look.

"Or maybe he didn't show." Allison retorted.

"Or maybe he was buying you some flowers or maybe preparing a surprise for you on the beach?"

"Abigail waited for him for over 10 minutes."

"And are you sure that your sister is telling the truth."

"Abs would never lie to me."

"Well then if she would never lie to you then maybe he was running late and he and your sister just happened to miss each other."

"And maybe my mother was right and he got what he wanted from me and just left me."

"Wolfe isn't that kind of guy."

"Be that as it may Delko, It's not going to change anything. He wasn't there." Ali swallowed down the lump in her throat. "That day was that start of my life becoming a living hell. I left with my family and my mother proceeded to force me to do things I didn't want, only there was one thing she wanted me to do and I refused so, she sent me away. Once I turned 18 I joined the Navy to get away from her."

Allison turned to look at Eric. "I'm not the same person I was 16 years ago, Eric. Part of it has to do with Ryan and part of it has to do with the way my mother treated me. I'm not proud of the way I am nor did I want to be this way. I was made this way and I can't be fixed. I had to fight for me and my-"

The CSI had arrived at the crime scene and put the car in park. "And your what?"

"Nothing forget it." Allison said as she opened the door and got out of the Hummer.

She walked right past her other two co-workers, visibly upset, and headed into the house. Ryan and Calleigh turned questioning looks towards the Cuban. Eric simply shrugged his shoulders. Ryan walked in after Allison while Calleigh pulled Eric to the side.

"What did you do? You made her upset." Calleigh scolded.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was going to be such a touchy subject."

"I told you to leave her alone."

"I know, I know, but I did get a lot of information. Calleigh, those two fell in love years ago, here in Miami and from the looks of it their feeling towards each other haven't changed." Eric informed her.

"They could have fooled me."

"Well they love each other, and I'm going to get them back together." The Cuban happily supplied.

"Whoa, whoa, stop your train cupid. Aren't you forgetting one major detail?" Calleigh asked.

"What?"

"Ryan is engaged to Molly."

Eric didn't even have time to respond. The next thing that they heard was a single gunshot followed by glass shattering. Both CSIs turned just in time to see two silhouettes flying out of a downstairs long window. Calleigh and Eric immediately drew their weapons as they ran to were the two bodies had landed, Delko managing to call backup in the process.

Once they got closer they managed to see Allison effectively flip her and a suspect over allowing her to straddle him.

Allison pulled out her gun and aimed it right in between his eyes. "You move and there will be a bullet in your head."

"Ali what the hell happened?" Calleigh demanded.

The CSI rolled the man over and cuffed him. "This jerk snuck up behind me and put a gun to my head but then Ry...oh crap Ryan!"

Ali turned around to go back in to the house when there was a moan and a groan. Ryan was standing in the new hole in the side of the house, clutching his arm. Calleigh immediately saw the blood running down her colleague's arm and got on her phone to call an ambulance.

"Ryan are you ok?" Ali asked.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ryan shouted.

"What the hell is my problem? What the hell is your problem?" Allison shouted back.

The sounds of sirens were getting closer to their location. Calleigh handed off the cuffed man to one of the officers already on the scene.

"Alright both of you calm down." Eric commanded. "Allison please explain what happened."

"I was in the living room taking pictures of the scene when the next thing I know I'm feeling the barrel of a gun being pressed to the back of my head. Ryan comes in and the guy turns the gun on him and-"

"And she did this damn karate ninja move to get the gun out his hands causing the gun to go off and shoot me in the arm. He could have killed me." Ryan interrupted.

At that moment the ambulance arrived and was heading towards the group. Allison narrowed her eyes at Ryan in anger. "You're lucky that you only got shot in the arm. I saved your life. He would have killed you if I wouldn't have disarmed him."

"Yeah, you did save his life but you also could have killed him." Calleigh announced.

Allison turned incredulous eyes towards her fellow CSI. Calleigh quickly raised her hands up in a pacifying way. "Look, I'm not saying that what you did was wrong but you just need to be more careful next time. Try not to be so impulsive."

Ali was about to respond when the paramedics arrived. She was going to drop the whole thing and let them look at Ryan's arm however, Ryan seem to have other ideas.

"You're just as crazy as your mother. Always taking action and making decisions with disregard to other people."

The brunette started to feel something start to boil inside. If there was one that she hated the most, being compared to her mother would definitely be it. It made her livid for someone to tell her that she was like her mother. She would die first than be like her mother.

The Jersey native walked right up into Ryan's personal space. Wolfe could see the anger flicker across his angle's eyes. It made his heart clench to see such hatred in those once angelic eyes that only carried warmth and love. Ryan was expecting a rant and tantrum from his co-worker, what he wasn't expecting was a right cross to his left cheek.

Allison launched herself at Ryan but Eric intercepted and pulled her back.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Delko pleaded, trying to pull a very angry determined Allison.

"Son of a-" Ryan spat, clutching the side of his face.

"Don't you ever compare me to her. You know nothing about me. I am not like her and I will never be like her." Allison yelled.

Delko managed to pull her away and got her to focus her attention on him. "Listen to me. You need to calm down." Allison took in a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. "Good. Now Ryan you need to get that arm checked out before you get an infection." Delko ordered while gesturing to one of the paramedics that where standing dumbfounded at the scene they just presenced.

"And you, " The Cuban said turning to look at Allison. "You need to go with the other medic and get that gash looked at."

"What gash?"

"That gash on your forehead. Right above your eye."

Allison lifted her hand to her forehead and immediately felt a warm wetness there. She hadn't even noticed that she had been bleeding. The CSI was about to protest but Eric stopped her cold. "I don't want to hear anything. Now both of you go."

The brunette glared at her colleague but reluctantly did as she was told and followed the medics, along with Ryan, to the back of the ambulance.

Once they were both out of earshot Calleigh said. "You still think they're in love with each other?"

Delko turned and frowned at his girlfriend. This was just a bump in the road. They did love each other. Allison and Ryan just needed to stop being so stubborn. Eric just simply rolled his eyes at the blond and started to walk towards the ambulance.

After they finished checking both CSIs out, they finished processing the house and headed back to the lab, only this time Ryan road with Eric and Allison road with Calleigh.

Eric turned and looked at his friend that was peering out the window and unconsciously rubbing at his jaw. "How's the arm?"

"It's good. Medic said it was just a graze."

"Well then, maybe you could apologize to Allison for being an ass." Eric suggested.

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows at his friend. "Apologize? She got me shot!"

"She got you a bullet graze." Eric retorted.

"Allison could have gotten me killed."

"The way I see it." Eric started. "She saved your life. If she wouldn't have reacted the guy would have shot and killed you."

Ryan stayed quiet, looking out of the window, as he contemplated what Delko had just said. The more he thought about it, the more he knew Eric was right. His heart had stopped when he had walked into the room and saw a gun aimed at Ali's head. His hand had immediately gone to his holster, but in that split second the gun was being aimed at him. Ryan knew that the gunman wasn't going to hesitate to shoot him. He could see the finger twitching on the trigger.

Allison must have seen it also, because it only took her a second to look at the gun then look at him, a horrified emotion crossing her features. The next thing he knew, she was going towards the weapon and then he felt a searing pain on his bicep, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

Once he had gotten through the pain he swiftly stood in search of his co-worker, praying that she was alright. When he had seen her standing there he had felt a sense of relief mixed with anger. Relief that she was still alive and anger that she had done something stupid that could have killed them both. In the end, anger out won the relief and he had acted like a complete jerk towards her.

"She took an unnecessary risk." Ryan started as he raised a hand to stop Eric's protest. "But, I do admit that by her actions she managed to save both our lives."

"It's good that you admit it. Now, as much as it would kill you, you have to apologize to her."

"I will apologize for yelling but, she should apologize for punching me. I don't even know why she got so crazy about me telling her that she was like her mother."

"Did it ever occur to you that she might have had a bad relationship with her mother and that her mother may have treated her badly causing her not to exactly like her?" Eric asked.

Wolfe contemplated his friend's logic. He remembered when Allison had told him that her mother wanted to dictate every last bit of her life. Ever since she had left that summer he always had assumed that her mother had finally convinced her that he wasn't good enough for her.

"She's changed so much that I just assumed that her mother-"

"Ryan, sometimes people change and it's not always because they want to, it's because they have to. They have to change in order to survive. Allison is the way she is because her mother made her that way and there may be nothing you can do to fix it. Now the question becomes, do you still love her anyways?"

Without even thinking and without hesitation Ryan answered him. "I always have and always will." At the realization at what he had just said, Ryan's eyes grew wide. Wait, how did Eric know that he was in love with Allison? The CSI turned and narrowed his eyes at the Cuban. "Hold up, how did you know about Allison and me?"

"I'm a CSI I collect the clues and they give me the answer. Plus, Ali might have told me a thing or two." Eric answered with a shrug.

"She told you about us?"

"Well I kind of prodded it out of her."

"That doesn't surprise me." Ryan said with a smirk.

Eric gave him a look of mock innocence. "I was serious about you apologizing though."

Wolfe let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know. I'll try but, I really don't think that she would really want to listen to me."

"Just watch out for that mean right cross." Eric said with laughter.

The officer turned and glared at his friend. "That is not funny, Delko."

Finally arriving back to the lab, Eric put the Hummer into park and allowed himself to burst into fits of laughter.

"Oh it is so was funny, Wolfe." The Cuban said in between chuckles.

"Yeah, it's funny to you 'cause you weren't the one that got punched in the face." Ryan grumbled.

"You have to admit though, that she does have a mean right cross."

"Yeah I know." Ryan said slightly annoyed. "It hurt like hell."

Both CSIs stepped out of the vehicle and headed back into the lab. When they got off the elevator Ryan saw Allison signing in. He took a step forward with the intentions of apologizing but Horatio interrupted his plans.

"Ms. Cahill can I please talk to you in my office?" The Lieutenant asked.

"Of course Sir."

Allison followed her boss to his office. She had a pretty good idea what this was going to be about. She wasn't too worried about it because she knew that she had done the right thing. It just pissed her off that it had only been a week and she was already being called to the boss's office.

Horatio ushered his CSI in first and closed the door behind them. "Please, have a seat." The red head offered.

"No thanks, I think I'll stand."

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow at the brunette. Allison was standing the middle of his office at attention, military background showing in the rigidly of her shoulder and stern stare.

"Allison, I'm not sending you to the firing squad. Please, sit down."

Ali nodded as she relaxed her shoulders and took a seat in the chair across from her boss. Horatio could see the nervousness that was oozing out of his subordinate, by the way she was picking at the band-aid wrapped around her finger. There was something in Allison that made him feel close to her. He had only known her for a few weeks and he felt this need to protect her. H was about to speak when he was cut off by the sudden outburst of ex-Naval officer.

"Sir, I know that what I did was reckless and stupid but I know that what I did was right. I did it to keep my co-worker safe-"

"I know."

"It was an un-necessary risk and...Wait. I'm sorry, what?" Allison said, completely shocked at what she just heard.

"I said I know. Now, I will agree with you that what you did was reckless but, it was also necessary to save Mr. Wolfe's life. I wasn't there but I also know that you wouldn't have done anything to endanger anyone. I just want you to be a little more careful next time."

"Yes Sir. I promise to be more careful."

"You were a great addition to this time. You'll be a great CSI."

"Thank you so much Sir. I really appreciate this opportunity and your confidence in me." Allison said.

"You're welcome. You're free to go."

Allison stood and nodded one more thank you before tossing something in the trash and heading out the door. Horatio starred after the retreating brunette. She reminded him a lot of him when he was young. Her features reminded him so much of someone he just couldn't put his finger on it. Horatio turned and looked down at the garbage can at the edge of his desk, in there laid the answer to his doubts.

They day went on and everyone had buried themselves in solving the multiple murders because it was clear that the man that had attacked Ryan and Allison wasn't working alone and of course he wasn't going to roll over on his helpers. They had finally found out who the rest were and brought them in. After that they had called it a day and headed home.

Once Ryan rounded the corner to the locker room he found Allison standing at the locker with her phone to her ear. During the day he hadn't been able to apologize so he was going to take this opportunity to allow himself to do that. He took one step in her direction when she started talking into the phone.

"Hey babe. This is about the 5th time I've called you since I got here to Miami. I just want to know how you've been doing. I miss you. -"

Ryan started to back out quietly. He had heard enough. It was crystal clear that Allison had moved on and he was alone with this feeling that wouldn't go away. He was going to get over her if it was the last thing he did.

Meanwhile back in the locker room Allison was finishing up her message.

"Danny I really need someone to talk to. Sam hates me because I won't tell her about her father. I just about got myself killed at a crime scene today and to top it all off Ryan...Ryan's my co-worker. I still love him Danny. I don't know what to do. You know what, forget I called, you probably have your own problems to worry about. That's why I haven't left you a message. Just say hi to Gracie for me, please. Tell her Aunt Ali loves her so much. Talk to you later Danno. Love you."

Ali ended the phone call and pocketed her cell before grabbing her bags and heading out the lab. Hopefully when she got home Sam was in a better mood and they could talk about things.

In the meantime Horatio entered the DNA lab and put on his lab coat and gloves. He quickly set to work by extracting the DNA from the piece of evidence he brought. After he was done he waited patiently for the computer to do it's magic. After a couple of minutes the computer beeped indicating that it was finished and the printer spit out the results.

Horatio slowly reached for the paper and slid it off the printer. He took in a deep breath before reading the words. The Lieutenant instantly felt his heart drop all the way to his stomach. There it was in plain black and white. Allison was his daughter.


	12. Still in Love

_A thousand times I've seen you standing gravity like lunar landing. Make me want to run till I find you. I shut the world away from here. Drift to you, you're all I hear. Everything we know fades to black. Half the time the world is ending. Truth is I am done pretending. I never thought that I had anymore to give. Pushing me so far, here I am without you. Drink to all that we have lost. Mistakes we have made. Everything will change, but live remains the same._

_**~Love Remains the Same-Gavin Rossdale**_

Allison groaned as the insistent ringing pulled her out of her sleep. She had just drifted off to sleep after being awake nearly 24 hours. The team had picked up a series of killings of couples being murdered. The bastard was picking up his victims in a taxi cab and instead of taking them home he took them to an abandoned factory.

He would tie them up and then would proceed to do what he wanted with the female victim while her significant other had to sit and watch. When he grew tired, he just simply shot them in the head. Then, he would deposit the female victim on the beach and deposited the male victim in a pile of garbage in a dark alley way.

It had hit close to home for Ali when the perp had decided to change his M.O. and had abducted a 16 year old girl and her boyfriend. The victim had reminded her so much of Samantha. She had had the same light brown hair and fair skin, the only difference was this victim had had blue eyes instead of green.

The team had finally gotten a break when the last couple abducted had managed to escape and had told them exactly what their suspect did to capture them. The pair had been really shaken up and could not really tell him were the factory was located, they could only remember bits and pieces. They did however, tell them that they had gone out to the new night club on 23rd St. From there, the team had managed to link all the murders together, discovering that they had all gone to the same club the night of their abduction.

There was also one major detail the female vic had given them. She had managed to get a glimpse of their attacker and had remembered that she had seen him in the club that night. With this new lead and full sketch of their abductor they had a real chance of capturing their perp.

It was then that Delko had conjured up the crazy idea that Ali and Ryan go undercover to try and arrest the bastard. Both CSIs had strongly opposed to the idea but in the end had reluctantly agreed when Horatio approved the proposal and set up the operation to take place that night.

So he had sent everyone home to get some rest so they could be alert when it came time to take action. Ali had arrived home, took a quick shower, and went straight to bed to catch a few hours of sleep, but her slumber was interrupted by her cell phone going off. She rolled over in her bed and grabbed her cell off the nightstand and answered it, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Cahill." She greeted.

"Oh Jesus! Thank God you're not dead. I'm sorry I didn't call you until now. When I heard your message I thought that you had gone and done something stupid.-"

"Danny-" Allison tried to cut in. Right now she really was not in the mood to hear one of her cousin's rants.

"Although you sound kind of groggy. Did you take something Ali?"

"Danny-"

"You spit it out right now Allison, right now, you hear me? Ok, I'm taking the next flight down there.-"

"DANNO!"

"What!?"

"Do you know what time it is?" Allison asked.

"Oh. It's-" There was silence through the line. Allison could hear her cousin do the calculations of the time difference. "Ali, it's 10 in the morning over here which means its 3 in the afternoon over there. What the hell are you still doing in bed and not at work? Listen, I know in your message you said you found Ryan, but that's no reason-"

"He has nothing to do with this Danny."

"Then please tell me why you are still in bed?" The Detective asked. "Because obviously you are still in bed you sound like I woke you up and you're complaining about the god damn hour. Really, Ali? It's 3 in the flippin afternoon!"

"You're working really hard on not swearing, aren't you?" The CSI giggled. "How many times has Gracie called you out on it?"

"To many to count on 2 hands. But that is not the point here missy and don't try changing the subject. Answer the question Ms. Cahill. Why are you home and not out solving a crime with your super Navy crime solving skills?"

Allison had to laugh at that. She never knew how much she needed to talk to him until now. Danny always managed to say the right things to cheer her up.

"Well if you must know my super Detective, I just got home from trying to solve a crime with my super Navy crime solving skills." Allison proceeded to tell him of the events of the past 48 hours.

"Wow, that's awful. So you guys have a plan on how you're going to catch this guy?" Danny asked.

Allison let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm going undercover."

"You? Alone? But, his victims are couples. Someone has to go undercover with you...Ohhh." Danny said after realizing who the other officer was going to be. "You're going undercover with Ryan, aren't you?"

"Great Detective skills, Danny." Allison deadpanned.

"Oh wow, Ali, I'm sorry. That's going to be rough. Although, I must say acting like you're in love with him isn't going to be so hard."

"Thanks Danno, for rubbing salt onto an open wound."

"I know, I know, sorry again. So how are you getting along working with him? Has he explained why he never showed up at the diner?"

"It's hell Danny. When I first saw him, I wanted to hit him, kiss him, ask him why. I wanted to do so many things. Every time I'm with him I can't help and think on what we could have had. He hasn't told me why he wasn't at the diner, but I haven't really given him the time of day to actually explain."

"Does he know about Sam?" The Detective asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not! What do you think I am, a masochist?"

Daniel let out a sigh before he replied. He knew that Allison wasn't going to like what he was going to say, but it was going to have to be said. "Allison, don't you think that you should tell him? How long do you think that you'll be able to keep Sammy a secret? He's going to find out sooner or later."

"I can't Dan. If I tell him about her that means that I would have to tell Sam that her father isn't dead. And how the hell do you want me to explain that to her? That I lied to her for 15 years? She's going to hate me."

"She'll hate you more if she finds out herself rather than if you would have told her yourself. Ali-"

"I'm not going to tell her, Danny. I'd rather die than have her find out and have her hate me for the rest of our lives." Allison spat.

"Ali-" Danny tried.

"No Daniel! There is nothing that you could say or do to make me think otherwise. Now can we please change the subject? Like, were the hell have you been for the past 6 months that you couldn't pick up the phone to let me know that you were still alive. I had to find out through Aunt Maggie that you had moved to Hawaii. She couldn't tell me much else because you have hardly called her. What the heck happened Danno?"

There was silence through the phone followed by and irritable sigh. "I don't want to talk about it." Came the response.

"No, you're not getting off that easily Detective. So please, do tell me why have you been MIA?"

"But you didn't-"

"Danny!"

There was another irritated sigh. "Fine! Ok! Like a dog with a damn bone. Jesus. I was depressed, ok? I felt embarrassed because my marriage failed and I had to move to this God forsaken island only to get two days out of the week with my beautiful baby girl."

"Ok-"

"What else? Let's see...Oh yeah, everyone hates me at HPD. They keep calling me this damn 'H' word that I don't freakin understand but, I'm 99% sure that it's an insult. oh and-"

"Ok, stop Danny. I get it. I'm sorry I pushed you. I should have known." Allison said regretfully.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little frustrated. I didn't mean to take it out on you. You were just worried."

"God Danny, if I could I would go over there and seriously just rip Rachel apart. I knew she was bad news D. She is such a hypocrite. "

"Just, don't. Please Ali, just drop it."

Allison grumbled. It irked her to no end that Danny would still defend the woman that was keeping his daughter from him. "Fine, but you best bet that if I ever see her again Daniel, she's going to hear what I have to say."

The CSI heard a chuckle as a response from the other end. "I'm sure she will babe. That's if you don't kill her first. Oh, hey hang on, there's someone at the door."

There was a moment of silence followed by feet shuffling and a mumbled 'you've got to be kidding me'. Allison could hear Danny putting the phone back to his ear. "Danny, what's going on? Who's at the door?"

"I can't believe that the son of a bitch is here. He took my case, what more does he want? Mr. 'It's my case now.' I'm gonna seriously punch him in the face."

"Who are you talking about?"

"The gigantic neanderthal animal that's currently pounding on my door. Which by the way, he's going to have to buy me a new one if he breaks it. He's the Navy SEAL son of a cop who got murdered. The guy just comes onto my crime scene and starts snooping around. Then I kindly ask him to leave and he challenges me."

"Well you better be careful with those SEAL guys, they're pretty tough. They're the Navy's elite. I actually have a friend that's a SEAL."

"Yeah, well good for the Navy. Maybe they could take this one back and rewire his brain. Listen, I got to go before he knocks down my door. I'll talk to you later. Love you, babe."

"Love you too, D."

Allison presses the end button on her phone and sets it back onto her night stand. She rolls onto her back again and stares at the ceiling. It was good to hear from her cousin again. She was glad that he was doing ok besides the fact that Rachel is taking Gracie away from him and the grief they were giving him at HPD. Ali remembered that Danny was having problems with a Navy SEAL, reminding her of her good friend Steve. She wondered how he was doing right at that moment. The last she had heard of him was a year ago when he went out on his last mission, following a lead on the location of one of the Hesse brothers. The brunette hoped that her colleague was doing ok, where ever he was.

The officer rolled over onto her side and tried to catch some sleep before the operation later on that evening. As soon as she closed her eyes the slumber consumed her and she was out like a light.

It was finally closing in on 8 o'clock and Allison was arriving at their meeting place so they could get the show on the road. She put her car in park and quickly got out before she ended up chickening out. It wasn't the undercover job that scared her it was the notion that she was going to be so close to Ryan.

She approached the van and knocked lightly three times and waited for them to open the door. Once opened she quickly hopped in and they closed the door behind her. When she caught sight of Ryan the breath caught in her throat. She felt like she was falling in love with him all over again. He had on a light blue t-shirt with a black leather jacket and dark colored jeans. He looked absolutely gorgeous.

The officer was finishing getting his ear piece put in when he turned and saw Allison standing there staring at him. His mouth instantly went dry when he caught sight of her. She was wearing tight fitting dark colored skinny jeans and a cream colored satin tank top. Allison looked beautiful.

They stood starring at each other for what seemed like forever until Officer Johnson interrupted them. "You're all set Wolfe." Ryan turned his attention to the officer who was sporting a knowing smile. It was obvious as the sky was blue that these two people had feelings for each other. Ryan gave him a curt nod and walked past Allison to go stand beside Horatio.

"Ms. Cahill, I'm ready for you." Officer Johnson said.

Ali turned and smiled sweetly at the officer before walking towards him to allow him to do his job. He effectively placed a concealed ear piece in her ear so that she would be able to communicate with the rest of the team.

Once finished, Allison grabbed her bag and moved past her boss and Ryan as she exited the van. The red head extended his arm, ushering his CSI out of the van. Once outside they found that the rest of the team had arrived.

"Wow, Allison. You look hot. If I wasn't already taken I would totally hit on you right now." Eric said teasingly.

"If I wasn't so sure about you and I, I would take offense to that statement." Calleigh said as she walked up to join them.

Everyone laughed as Calleigh wrapped her arms around Eric's waist and he in turn wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Where the hell did you put your gun?" Walter asked, eyeing the skin tight pants.

Ryan instantly felt jealousy bubble up inside him. "Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer. Instead of you trying to undress her with your eyes."

Walter held up his hands in a pacifying manner. "Easy Wolfe. No harm, no foul."

"Ok ok, let's calm down the testosterone level," Natalia piped up. "and let's get our head in the game."

They all finished going over their plan once more and then split to go to their respective position.

Allison and Ryan went walking down the street and once they rounded the corner Ryan took a hold of the other CSI's hand. The Naval officer's heart starting beating faster as she looked down at their intertwined hands. It was weird how their hands still fit perfectly together after all these years, like they were never apart.

"We have to look like we're a couple."

Ali turned her attention to the man that was by her side. She saw insecurity in her partner's eyes. She simply squeezed his hand in reassurance as she smiled and nodded at him.

"This is fine, but if your hand starts traveling other places you're going to have to learn how to shoot your gun with your right hand." Allison stated matter of fact, with a devilish grin on her face.

Ryan snorted as they made it to the entrance of the club. It felt good to still be able to joke around like this. They easily gained access into the club and quickly made their way to two empty seats at the bar. Allison sat down while Ryan remained standing to her right and ordered their drinks. While they waited Wolfe snaked his arm around his co-workers waist and leaned in close to her to nuzzle her temple.

Ali instantly stiffened at the contact. "What did I tell you about that hand?"

"We're supposed to look like we're in love. This is what people in love do." Ryan stated, like it was as plain as the sky is blue. He placed a soft his on her cheek and Allison instantly relaxed into his embrace. Look like they we're in love, right. She could do that because God knew how much she still loved this man.

She turned slightly in her chair to face him. With her right hand she cupped his face and pressed her forehead to his. They were breathing each other's air, one slight turn of their heads and their lips could brush against each other.

"Let's keep it PG rated kids." Walter's voice filtered through the ear piece, bringing them back to reality.

Allison instantly pulled away from Ryan's embrace. She turned and located her co-workers at a table across the dance floor. "Ooh, what the hell Delko?" Came Walter's voice once more. Ali could see the CSI rubbing his arm where the Cuban had hit him.

"Walter's right, we need to stay focused and locate our suspect." Allison said.

Ryan sighed in frustration and swore that when they were done with this he was going to seriously hurt Walter. They nursed their drinks all the while they canvassed the area to see if they located their perp. Ryan was about to turn around and order another drink when a blond female approached him.

"Buy a lady a drink?" She asked as she effectively snaked her arm around his neck.

Wolfe smiled politely at the woman who was beginning to get grabby. He was about to courteously decline her offer when Allison interrupted.

"Ok, first off, buy your own damn drink. Second of all, a lady doesn't drape herself all over a man like a cheap hooker, and lastly as you obviously didn't notice and if you did and just didn't care, then you're more desperate to get laid than I thought, he's taken. So, if you would be so gracious as to extract yourself off my man I would be so greatly obliged." Allison stated matter of fact, her jealousy seeping through every word.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked with an incredulous look. "He didn't look taken from where I was standing. It looked like you two couldn't stand each other."

"She's right, you know." Came Delko's voice.

Something sparked inside of Allison. She wanted this woman to know and every other woman in this club that Ryan was hers and that he was off limits. So, she did the first thing that came to mind. Swiftly, she turned to face Ryan, bracketed his face with her hands and sealed her lips to his.

Ryan instantly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close to him causing her to enclose her arms around his neck. Each of the CSIs let themselves melt into the kiss. It was as if they were never apart. Both were savoring the flavor of the other. When the need for air became too much to ignore they both pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other, the woman stranger long gone.

After a few seconds Ryan was the first to speak. "I never stopped loving you. I went back for you. I waited for you at the beach were you said to go a year later, but you didn't come."

Ali pulled her head back looked shockingly into Ryan's eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What? You didn't...but you...you didn't show up." Allison stuttered.

"Show up where, Ali?" Ryan asked.

"At the diner. You didn't show up at the diner, Ry."

Allison could see the questioning look in Ryan's eyes. He was as confused as she was, but there was no time to clarify because out of the corner of her eye she spotted their suspect.

"I've got eyes on our suspect. 3 stools down from our location." Informed Allison.

With all the confusion Ryan was about to turn make himself obvious when Allison stopped him by pressing another kiss to his lips. "Don't be too obvious. It seems that he has an interest in us."

Ryan brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're not done talking about this Allison."

Another kiss. "Ok. Let's go dance so that we can get a more precise visual on him." She grabbed a hold of hand and dragged him out to the dance floor. From there they had a better angle and confirmed that it was their suspect. "Everyone get ready."

They headed off the dance floor and went to stand at the bar next to the perp. "Ry, baby, I'm getting tired. Maybe we should be getting home?"

"Yeah sure, it's getting pretty late."

"Great, I'm just gonna go to the ladies room before we go."

"Ok, but hurry 'cause remember we have to get a cab."

"I won't be long, I promise." She gave him a chaste kiss. "I love you."

"Love you to baby."

Allison walked away and headed to bathroom. At the same time the perp walked toward the exit. "Alright we've got movement." Came Delko's voice.

"We've got eye's on our target." Came an officer's voice. "He's getting into a cab. He's waiting."

Allison returned from her fake trip to the bathroom and followed Ryan out the club to seek a cab. Once outside the cab immediately pulled up to the curb without them having to flag it down.

Ryan opened the door so that Ali could get in. She carefully and slowly got into the backseat, trying to buy some time for their backup to arrive. Allison saw their backup round the corner, but she wasn't the only one that saw it. The suspect instantly identified the vehicles as police and stepped on the accelerator. The sudden jolt of the car sent Allison back into the car and on to the floor of the vehicle. Ryan was sent toppling on to the cement ground, pulling Allison's purse with him, which held her weapon.

The perp weaved in and out of traffic, and effectively caused the open door in back to close. Ali finally pulled herself up from the car floor, planning on jumping out of the car, she reached for the handle but the man cut her intentions short buy locking the door. The CSI futilely tried to unlock the door but the perp had some mechanical system in place that impeded her to unlock the car.

"MDPD! Stop the vehicle, now!" Allison demanded.

The suspect just ignored her and kept on driving like a mad man, with MDPD close behind them. "Stop the vehicle, now."

"He's not going to take you away from me. You're mine." The man said.

"What!? What the hell are you talking about? Stop the car now!"

"No I can't let him take you Lindsey. I can't let him take you again. You can't leave me again."

"Lindsey?-" Allison was unable to continue with her retort because the car swiveled violently causing her to slam against the car door.

"Ali? Ali, are you okay?" Ryan's voice rang through her ear piece.

The brunette rubbed the quickly forming bruise at her temple. "I'm fine, but I'd be a lot better if you'd stop this son of a bitch."

"We're working on it."

"Yeah, well right now I'm thinking of busting this window open and jumping."

"Don't do anything stupid. We'll get you out of there." Ryan pleaded.

"It's not being stupid. It's simple, I can do this."

"Ali just-" Ryan couldn't finish his sentence because what he saw next made his heart stop. The car where Allison and their suspect were in, rolled across the pavement after being hit by a delivery truck.

The car that Ryan was in came to an abrupt stop and he instantly got out of the vehicle, drawing his gun. "Ali! Ali!"

He slowly approached the upside down automobile. "Ali?" Suddenly there was movement in the car and their suspect started to crawl out of the window. "Freeze, MDPD!"

Regardless of all the cuts and scrapes and what appeared to be a broken arm the man slowly sat up and took aim at Ryan and the other officers approaching. "Put the gun down." One officer shouted.

"You won't take Lindsey away from me, again." He slurred. His fingers went to pull the trigger but the police officers beat him to it, landing two in his chest. Ryan quickly holstered his weapon and ran to the car, in search of his co-worker. He crouched down to look in the back window and found Allison sprawled face down, her body contorted in an un-normal position.

"Allison." Ryan called as he laid flat on his stomach and reached for the woman he loved, immediately feeling for a pulse.

"Ryan don't move her." He heard Calleigh say behind him. "You don't know if you'll cause more damage. The medics are on their way."

The CSI clung to her hand as the sirens of the ambulance hurriedly approached. Within minutes paramedics were on the scene and Ryan reluctantly stood back while he let them do their job. They finally managed to get her out of the crumpled car and rushed her to the ambulance, Ryan close behind.

"We'll meet you at the hospital." Calleigh said as her co-worker jumped into the back of the ambulance.

When they arrived at the hospital a trauma team was on standby, and ready. The doors to the ambulance opened and Ryan was relieved to see a familiar face.

"Alex." He said.

"Who is it baby?" She asked, fearing one of her good friends was injured.

"Her name is Allison Cahill. She's one of our new CSIs."

Their meeting was cut short when one of the medics started quoting her stats to the nurses and doctor. They dashed into the emergency room to start checking her over. Alex turned to follow them but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, save her Alex. Do anything that is necessary, but please save her. I can't lose her again." Ryan pleaded.

Alex could see the pure desperation in her friend's face. "I'll do everything I can."

The rest of the team finally arrived and gathered in the waiting area. A little more than an hour had passed and Ryan was getting extremely nervous and started pacing the floor. He was pulled out of his mantra when he felt a gentle hand on his back and turned to find Natalia looking sympathetically at him.

"She's going to be fine, Ry. You'll see."

"I hope so Talia."

At that moment Alex entered the waiting room. Not waiting for her to speak, Ryan quickly spoke first. "How is she?"

"She's stable. She has some bruised ribs, a broken right radius, multiple lacerations on the body, and a mild concussion. Right now she's heavily sedated because we found minor swelling in the brain." Alex responded.

"But she's going to be ok, right?" Ryan asked.

"We have to wait for the swelling to go down then we would have to see if there's any brain damage or memory loss. I would advise you to notify her family, maybe a son or daughter, whoever her next of kin is."

"Can we see her?" Horatio asked.

"Not tonight, sorry. She's too heavily sedated and I want her to relax. You guys can come and see her tomorrow."

"Thank you Alex."

"You're welcome."

Horatio had ordered everyone to go home but Ryan had been stubborn and elected to stay the night in the waiting room. Thankfully everyone convinced him that he wouldn't do Allison much good if he was sleep deprived, she needed all the support she could get.

With a heavy heart he reluctantly agreed and allowed Eric to drive him home. So now he sat home alone not being able to sleep. All he could think about was Allison. Only a few hours before he was confessing to her that he still loved her now she was laying in a hospital bed. He had planned to stop pretending that he didn't love her and beg and plead her to come back to him and now it seemed that he could possibly miss his chance.

Meanwhile Horatio was arriving back at the lab to grab Allison's file and notify her next of kin, which he assumed was her sister Abigail. He finally reached his office and was going to retrieve her file when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Lieutenant Caine?" The frail voice asked.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"My name is Samantha Cahill. I'm Allison Cahill's daughter. "


	13. Sense of Protectivness

**A/N: **So this chapter was going to be the big reveal but my muse decided otherwise and pulled me in a slightly different direction with this story. I hope you guys like it. And sorry for teasing you with it, but the reveal will come soon, promise. Thanks again to everyone for reading and commenting.

_You would be held in closeness, protected by everything within me. Sometimes I have not been strong myself, but I would show my heart to you clearly. I would not let you fall in hurt. I'd pick you up and place you on solid ground. You would know I was there for you, even if I couldn't be around...If you were my child, you would not be forgotten, within my heart or my mind. I would help to heal any hurts, and I would help you to leave them behind._

_**~If You Were my Child-April Higney**_

Chapter 13: Sense of Protectiveness.

Horatio stared awestruck at the wall across his desk as he digested the words that he had just heard. Daughter? Allison had a daughter? Then that meant he had a granddaughter. All this time wishing that he would have stopped and took the time to start a family and now in the span of a few days he had been given a daughter and granddaughter.

"Sir?" Came the voice at the other end of the line.

"Yes, I'm sorry sweetheart. What did you say?"

"I said, I'm sorry to have called you so late, but my mother gave me your number in case of emergencies. I don't know if this is an emergency but she hasn't come home yet and it's getting really late and her phone goes straight to voicemail. I was beginning to get worried. She should have been home by now, Lieutenant."

Horatio could hear the girls voice start to crack. It was obvious that she was freighted that something had happened to her mother. It killed the red haired man to have to tell her that her mom was in the hospital.

"Listen Samantha, you mother went undercover tonight. There was an accident and your mother is in the hospital."

"Oh my God, Is she ok? Please tell my she's ok." Her voice finished breaking and Horatio knew she was crying now.

"Honey, she's ok." Horatio proceeded to tell her everything that Alexx had told them. "Right now she's not allowed visitors but you can go and see her tomorrow. Did you need me to come and get you?" Horatio wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to meet his granddaughter.

"Yes please, I would really appreciate it Lieutenant. I don't have my license yet and my closet relative is in Jersey."

"Alright, I'll be at your house around 8, ok?

"Yes, thank you so much Lieutenant."

"You're Welcome. And please call me-" Horatio really wanted for her to call him Grandpa, but that would be completely awkward considering that Allison didn't even know that he was her father yet. " Just call me Horatio."

"Ok, thank you Horatio. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye sweetheart."

With a heavy sigh he pushed the end button on his cell and set it on the desk. A small smile started to spread across his face. He had a granddaughter. His heart fluttered at the thought and tomorrow he would be able to meet her.

The following morning Horatio Caine woke up extra early to start his day. He barely managed to get much sleep. He had spent most of the night wondering what his granddaughter looked like.

He finished getting ready and quickly got into his car. About 20 minutes later he was knocking on Allison's door. He patiently, and quite nervously, waited for Samantha to answer. Within seconds the door slowly swung open and the teen stood in the doorway.

Horatio felt his heart drop to his stomach when he saw Sam. She was beautiful. She had light brown hair like her mother and the brightest green eyes he had ever seen. Her skin looked like porcelain with the slightest tint of red, from the rays of the Miami sun.

"Lieutenant." She greeted.

"Samantha." He greeted extending his had to her. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that it's under these circumstances."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." Sam replied, taking his hand.

Horatio had to fight down the urge to pull Sam into a tight embrace. He reluctantly let go of her hand and ushered her to his car. The ride to the hospital was to short in the red head's mind. He would have liked to sit and talk longer with the teen. He only really managed to find out basic information about Samantha. They finally pulled into the hospital parking lot and Horatio dropped her off at the door while he went in search of a parking spot.

"Go on in sweetheart. She's on the 3rd floor, room 341. I'll meet you up there."

Sam nodded and quickly stepped out of the vehicle.

Meanwhile in the hospital Ryan was coming out of the gift shop with the biggest bouquet of flowers he could find, fluffiest teddy bear, and a get well soon balloon. He felt like a teenager all over again, that was trying to make the prettiest girl in school fall in love with him.

He quickly made his way to the elevator. When he went to push the button his hand bumped into another one that also wanted to push it. He turned and saw a young woman.

"Sorry." She apologized.

"It's ok. You going up?"

"Yes, please."

Ryan smiled warmly at her before he pushed the button to go up. The doors only took seconds to open and they both stepped in to the vacant elevator. On their ride up the CSI couldn't help but steal glances of the young lady. She reminded him of somebody but he couldn't pin point who it was.

They both got off the elevator and both turned in the same direction. Ryan had to admit to himself that it was getting kind of awkward. He felt like some pervert that was following this poor defenseless teen around. It got more awkward when they both stopped at the same door and reached for the handle.

"I'm sorry, are you also here to see my mother?" The teen asked.

Ryan felt like the wind was physically knocked out of him. Mother? Allison had a daughter? He couldn't believe it. There had to be some sort of mistake.

"I'm sorry...Um...your mother?" Ryan stuttered.

"Yes, my mom. Allison Cahill? Are you one of her co-workers?" Sam asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah. I work with your mom."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Sam." She said extending her hand.

Ryan stood dumbfounded, staring at Sam as if she had two heads. Sam? That was the name on the tattoo Allison had on her shoulder. The pieces were finally coming together. His brain finally caught up with him and he started to fumble clumsily with the items in his hands. After a few seconds Sam finally took pity on him.

"Here, why don't we go inside so you can set those things down?" Sam suggested as she turned the handle to the door.

Samantha slowly opened the door and hesitantly walked in. Once inside, she found her mother's still supine form stretched out on the bed and let out a gasp. It killed her to see her mother like that. She couldn't fight the tears back as they rolled freely down her cheeks.

Ryan's felt his heart clench in his chest when he saw the teen's tears. He felt a sudden need to protect this girl, even if he just met her. The officer swiftly set the gifts on the bedside table and wrapped his arms around the girls small frame.

"It's ok honey. She's going to be alright." He squeezed her tighter and placed a delicate kiss upon her head.

"I know she will be alright. It's just...It's so hard to see her like this. She's normally so strong and active, but right here she looks so weak and small. It just scares me is all." Sam sniffled.

"And it's alright to be scared." Ryan answered.

All these emotions running through him made Ryan feel dizzy. He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He briefly wondered where the father of this fragile girl was and why he wasn't here to support her. Ryan knew that this wasn't his little girl but, he quickly vowed that he would protect and care for her like if she was his child, as long as it took for Allison to get better. Ryan reluctantly pulled away from the teen when there was a soft knock at the door and Alexx poked her head through the opening, smiling at the pair.

"May I come in?"

"Of course Alexx." Ryan responded.

The Dr. continued to push the door open as she walked in. Horatio also walked in behind her. The Lieutenant was surprised to find his CSI there.

"Mr. Wolfe, your here early."

"I know I'm supposed to be at the lab H but, I had to come and see how Allison was doing."

"Might I add all the phone calls you made to me throughout the night and early this morning." Alexx stated as she gave him a knowing smile.

Ryan ducked his head as he blushed a crimson red across his cheeks. He was guilty as charged but, he couldn't help it. "I'm sorry Alexx. I just needed to know that she was doing better."

"It's alright baby. You were just looking out for someone you cared about."

Samantha gave Ryan a calculating eye as he blushed once more at the Dr.'s comment. It seemed that he did care a lot about her mother but, it seemed weird considering that they had only known each other a few weeks. Allison was pulled out of her musing when Alexx spoke up once more.

"I'm sorry honey, you must be Samantha. I'm Dr. Alexx Woods." She said extending her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Dr. Are you looking after my mother?"

"Yes sweetheart. I came by to let you know the progress on you mother."

"How's she doing Dr. Woods?"

"There's still minor swelling in the brain. It hasn't gone down a whole lot. So we're just going to continue to monitor it."

"What happens if the swelling doesn't go down? Is she going to have brain damage? Is she going to die?" The last words that were said cracked.

"Honey, we are going to do everything possible to help your mother. I have faith that the swelling will go down and we'll be able to bring her back. Baby, your mother is not going to die."

The tears started flowing freely down Samantha's cheeks. She turned and wrapped her arms around Ryan, burying her face in his chest. Ryan was a little taken aback by the sudden embrace, but he instantly wrapped his arms around Sam and held her tight once more.

"It's ok sweetheart." He murmured in her hair.

Alexx raised a questioning eyebrow at her former boss. If she didn't know any better she would think that these two could be father and daughter. Ryan seemed to have a sense of protectiveness over the teen, not to mention they had some similar features. The Dr. noticed that Horatio seemed to have his own questions about the pair.

Their questions would have to go unanswered for now because Horatio's cell went off. As soon as he answered it Ryan's cell also beeped, indicating the delivery of a text message.

"Looks like we've caught a new case." Ryan said as he pocketed his cell.

"That is correct Mr. Wolfe." Horatio responded

The Lieutenant walked over to his granddaughter and smiled warmly at her. "Anything that you need, don't hesitate in calling me, ok?"

"I will Sir."

"Ok"

Horatio then turned to Alexx and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let me know if anything changes, please."

"I will Horatio."

"Mr. Wolfe."

"I'll be right there, H."

The red head nodded and exited the hospital room. Ryan took out his wallet and pulled out one of his cards. He placed it in the young girls hand before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"The same thing goes for me. If there is anything that you need, just call me."

Samantha nodded and smiled at Ryan. "I will."

The CSI walked over to the bed and peered down at the still form of the only woman he has ever loved. He delicately pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face before caressing her cheek

"Please come back to me." He whispered.

He turned and was meet with the curious looks of both women in the room. Ryan quickly cleared his throat and walked over to Alexx to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you later Alexx."

"I'll follow you out."

Ryan nodded and walked to the door, Alexx close behind. As soon as the door clicked closed behind them, Dr. Woods let the questions start flowing out of her mouth.

"You're in love with that girl, aren't you?" Alexx asked, her hip cocked and eyebrow raised.

"Who? Sam? Are you crazy Alexx? She's just a little girl-"

"Not her honey, Allison. You're in love with Allison."

The way Ryan failed to meet her eyes, gave Alexx the answer she needed. "What about Molly? Aren't you engaged to her?"

"Yeah, that hasn't changed."

"But your feelings have?"

"No, it's just- Allison and I- Well...Allison and I met years ago. She was my first love." Ryan quickly told her the story about him and Allison, with the little time he had.

"You said that it's been sixteen years since you met?" Alexx asked.

"Yeah."

Alexx stayed thoughtful and contemplated what she had just heard. "What is it Alexx?"

"Have you stopped to think that Samantha could be your daughter?"

Ryan stood dumbfounded starring at his friend. No, she couldn't be. Could she? Could Sam be his daughter? Something deep inside of him wished that it was true, that she was his.

"That's not possible Alexx." Ryan retorted.

"Why not? It fits the timeline perfectly."

"No, Ali would have told me. She wouldn't keep something so big a secret from me. Would she?" Ryan stated, mostly to himself.

"That's something that you'll have to find out. Think about it baby." Alexx said with finality as she placed a kiss to his forehead.

Alexx left the CSI with the seed of doubt planted in his head. She felt horrible for doing so but, she knew that her gut feeling was right, Samantha had to be Ryan's daughter.

Meanwhile back in the room Allison pulled up a chair beside her mother's bed and took the battered hand in hers.

"Hi mama. I'm sorry, with all the commotions with your visitors I didn't even say 'hi'." She placed a soft kiss on her hand. "You need to get better mom. I can't make it without you. I need you here with me."

Sam wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled fondly at her mom. "It also seems that there are other people who need you. Like Officer Wolfe? He seems to have taken a keen interest in you."

She rested her forehead on the edge of the bed, her eyes closing briefly before the beeping of her cell pierced through the room. With nimble fingers she pulled the cell out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sammy baby. How are you doing?" The voice floated through the phone.

"I'm good Uncle D."

"That's good honey. Listen, I've tried calling your mother's cell but, it keeps going to voice mail. I know she was busy with work, but I thought that she would be done by now. Is she around?" The Detective asked.

Danny was met was silence. He was about to talk when he heard a sniffle. It was then that he knew that something was wrong. "What's wrong baby girl? Where's your mom?"

He heard another sniffle. "She's in the hospital Uncle D."

"What!? What happened? How is she?" Danny asked frantically.

"She got into a car accident while on a case she was working on. Uncle D, they have her in a medically induced coma. They say she has swelling in her brain."

It suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. His baby cousin was in a coma. "Oh God. Jesus, Sammy I'm sorry. Let me see what I can do. I'll try and take the first flight out there."

"You don't have to Uncle Danny. I called Aunt Abby."

"Yeah, and what did she say?"

"She said she would try to get down here as soon as she could but she was really tied up in work."

Danny let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Of course she is. Work is always more important than her family. Her sister is laid out in a hospital bed, in a coma for Christ's sake. She should be running over there and doing everything she can to get there. No, No, I'll make it out there as soon as I can. I just have to talk to my boss and figure things out."

"Ok Uncle Danny. I do really need someone here with me. I mean I do have mom's co-workers but I'd like to have either you or Aunt Abby here."

"Her co-workers? You've meet all of them?"

"Well not all of them. Just Lieutenant Caine and Officer Wolfe."

"Oh really? Officer Wolfe, is he another CSI?" Danny asked, well knowing the answer. He just wanted to see if the shit had hit the fan already.

"Yeah I think so. He seems like a nice guy. I think that he has a thing for mom though."

"A thing? What do you mean a thing? Like a thing, thing? Or a thing...uh thing?"

"Was that even English?" Sam asked with slight laughter in her tone.

"Ha, Ha, you're so funny kid. Now answer my question."

"I don't know. He brought her flowers, a teddy bear, and a get well soon balloon. I mean, they have only known each other a few weeks and they're already close to each other for it to merit him getting her flowers? So either there is something there that I don't know about or he has a thing for her."

"So we're back to the thing now?"

"You know what I mean Uncle Danny."

"Yeah, yeah, listen I have to call my boss and tell him the situation, he's not going to like it, considering it's nearing 3 A.M. over here and we just left each other. Then I'll book the next possible flight out to Miami. I'll call you when I'm at the airport, ok?"

"Ok."

"Ok, I love you."

"Love you too."

Sam ended the call and pocketed her phone. She looked up at the gifts that were settled on the bedside table and thought back to the words she heard Mr. Wolfe whisper. He had clearly not wanted her or the Dr. to hear them but, she heard them very clearly, 'Please come back to me'. It was almost as if they had be separated before.

She thought and thought about it for a few minutes and was clearly getting nowhere. The teen shook her head as if to clear the ideas out of her head. She couldn't think about it anymore or else it was going to give her a headache.

The only thing that she knew was that she really liked Officer Wolfe and he seemed to like her mom. So, maybe there was no harm in getting the pair together after her mother got better. Samantha smiled at herself. Yup, that was what she was totally going to do. So as soon as her mom was better 'operation hook momma up' would commence.


	14. Secrets Revealed

_They say that everyone lies. It is said that everyone will hurt you. They say honesty is the best policy. But what happens when we find the truth?_

_**~Finding Truth-Ben Mcelfresh**_

Chapter 14: Reveled Secret

"Earth to Ryan Wolfe. Are you in there?"

The CSI blinked as the foreign hand waved in front of his face. He was greeted with the concerned face of Eric Delko, looking at him through furrowed eyebrows. He blinked once more, and nodded.

"You've been acting weird since you got here, man. You seem distracted." The Cuban said.

"I'm fine."

Which was a total lie. He had been freaking out ever since he left the hospital. His stomach flutter right along with his heart every time he thought about the possibility that Samantha could be his daughter. And they didn't flutter at the simple notion that he could have a daughter, it was the notion that she was a teen. He really didn't know if he was prepared for it. How could he deal with the mood swings, shopping sprees, driving, boys! Oh my God, he hadn't stopped to think about the boys. One thing was for sure, he didn't care if he hadn't been in her life in all these years, she wasn't going to date until she was 40, and maybe not even then. Any boy that crossed her path was definitely going to be run through a background check.

"See, there you go again, drifting off to lala land." Eric said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Come on, Wolfe, tell me what's wrong?"

The brunette looked skeptically at his friend. "Did you know that Allison had a daughter?"

"Really? Wow, I didn't know that." Eric said, surprised.

"Yeah, she's fifteen."

"Fifteen? Really? She must have had her when she was really young. I would say when she was-"

"Sixteen." Ryan finished for him.

Delko looked at his friend thoughtfully as he pondered that information. "Yeah that sounds about right." Silence fell between them for a couple of seconds until Eric abruptly stood and looked at his friend unbelievingly. "Wait, are you...are you...are you trying to tell me that you're the father?"

"You have great detective skills Delko."

"She's seriously yours?"

"Well, that's the thing, I don't know."

"You don't know?" Delko asked incredulously.

Ryan let out a deep sigh. "Before today I didn't even know that Allison had a daughter. It was just as a surprise to me as it was to you. Alexx got me thinking that maybe she could be mine. I mean, it's logical what's she's saying, the timeline does fit."

The dark haired CSI looked at the brunette pensively. This was some serious revelation, this was totally out from left field.

"Wow, Wolfe. I don't know what to tell you."

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you want her to be yours?" Delko asked.

Ryan turned to look at his co-worker and instantly answered without hesitation, smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, I do. More than anything."

Eric generously returned the smile and patted his friend on the back. "Well, then you know what you have to do papa Wolfe."

Ryan huffed out a laugh before returning back to work. The sooner they got the crime scene taken care of the faster he could get back to the lab to processes it, and the sooner he did that the sooner he could go and see Ali.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI

The CSI finally made it back to the lab and was now processing the evidence. He was trying really hard to concentrate on the task at hand but, he couldn't seem to stop thinking about Samantha.

He wasn't sure on how the teen would react when she found out that he was her dad, if he was her dad, for that matter. Ryan didn't know why Allison hadn't said anything the first time they saw each other again. He didn't understand why he would keep Sam a secret.

"Hey hun, I was thinking that maybe we could go out for dinner tonight?"

Ry quickly snapped back to reality when he heard the voice of his girlfriend. He instantly felt bad because he hadn't really been paying attention to her. If he was being honest with himself, he thought that she had left the lab awhile ago.

"Are you listening to me?" Molly asked.

"Uh, yeah, I am. Um I don't think that I really want to go out to eat tonight Ali."

Molly's eyes instantly went wide. Being called by the name of your boyfriend's Ex, by your boyfriend, was on the very top of her list of 'Reasons to dump your boyfriend'.

Wolfe instantly realized his mistake and felt his heart fall to his stomach. He wished he could take it back the second he saw the crestfallen look on her face. It wasn't her fault that he could never get over his first love.

"Mol, I'm...I didn't-" Ryan stuttered.

"Don't Ryan." She started, letting out a deep breath before she continued. "I have gone through this whole relationship thinking that I could change how you feel. That I could help you forget her and have you fall in love with me. I was beginning to think that it was working, that I finally managed to steal your heart. That day that you proposed to me was one of the happiest days of my life, but all that happiness went out the window the day that she walked back into your life."

"I'm so sorry." Wolfe interjected.

"Please let me finish."

Ryan nodded dejectedly.

The lab tech wiped a stray tear from her cheek before she continued. "Ry, I thought that I could go through with this and ignore the fact that you're in love with Allison, but I can't. I'm sorry Ryan. I can't marry you knowing that you don't love me and that you're constantly thinking of another woman. I think that we should call it quits right here before either of us gets hurt beyond repair." She finished, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Molly, I. I can't. I-"

Molly placed her hand on top of the CSI's and smiled fondly at him. "Ryan, I'm letting you free. I'm not mad. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not mad. Ry, I'm letting you go so you can be with Allison, you should be with her. We'll always be friends, that will never change."

Ryan couldn't hold back his emotions anymore and let a stray tear fall. He turned his hand and interlaced their fingers, squeezing tightly. "You are the most wonderful person in this world and I don't deserve you. I'm so sorry for any pain that I have caused you. I wish that I could have fallen in love with you, but as you already know someone already had my heart and never gave it back."

The brunette bracketed her face with his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Any man would be lucky to have you. You are going to make a perfect wife and you're going to make that man the happiest man in the world. You're a special person Molly, don't you ever forget that."

The blond shook her head. "I won't."

He pulled her into a tight embrace. After a few seconds she pulled away and pulled the engagement ring off her finger. She delicately placed in the palm of his hand before placing one last kiss on his cheek and walking out the lab.

Ryan looked solemnly down at the ring in his hand. It broke his heart that Molly had broken off their engagement, but he knew that it was for the best. He couldn't go on lying to her and pretending that he was in love with her. Now she was free to find a man that was going to make her happy and he was free to win back Allison's heart.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-

The following morning Ryan Wolfe woke up extra early so he could stop by the hospital and see Allison before he went to the lab. The night prior he had gotten out of the lab to late and visiting hours were already over.

It took him half the time to get ready than usual, allowing him extra time with Ali. He made it to the hospital in record time and went directly upstairs to his co-workers room.

Not bothering with knocking Ryan walked right in with the biggest smile ever, only his smile slowly faltered when he noticed another man at Allison's side. He was slowly stroking her hair and had her hand enclosed tightly in his. Sensing another presence in the room, the blond haired man turned his attention to the door.

"Who are you?" Ryan asked.

"Wow those are great manners. Your mother taught you well."

"Don't talk about my mother." Ryan spat, hands fisting at his sides.

"I'm sorry man. I obviously hit a cord there, but see you just can't come barging into a hospital room demanding to know who I am. So now the question becomes, who are you?" The man asked.

Ryan was about to respond when the door to the bathroom slowly crept open allowing Sam to walk back into the room. "Officer Wolfe, you're here early."

"Yeah, I was planning to come back last night but I got caught up on a case, so I decided to drop in early before heading to the lab."

Ryan's eyes kept flickering between the blond haired man and Samantha. He wondered if maybe he was Sam's father, that he finally made his presence known. It ate him inside to think that maybe he was wrong about his fatherhood.

"I see you've met my Uncle Danny. Uncle this is Officer Wolfe."

A sudden sense of relief washed over the CSI as soon as he heard the word uncle. This man wasn't Sam's father. After a second of glaring at each other the blond reluctantly extended his hand.

"Detective Danny Williams, nice to meet you officer Wolfe." Danny gritted out. The Detective seriously wanted to punch the man in the face for breaking his baby cousins heart. He had to seriously bite his tongue so he wouldn't rip the man a new one.

"Likewise Detective, but I thought that Ali only had a baby sister, Abigail?"

"She does." Sam answered, looking at him curiously. "Uncle Danny is her cousin, but how do you know about Aunt Abby?"

Ryan was about to respond but Danny quickly interrupted before he said something that would reveal the truth of who he was. "Uh, Sammy I'm pretty sure that Ali told him about her. So, um officer, what exactly happened?" Danny asked, quickly changing the subject. "Because as far as Ali told me all you guys were going to do was go in there, identify your suspect, and arrest him. So please pray tell, why is my baby cousin in a coma?"

Wolfe took in a deep breath to steady his nerves, somehow he felt like this was his fault. If only he was the one that would have gotten in to the cab first. "It was supposed to happen like that, but we got made before we had a chance to arrest him." Ryan started, as he proceeded to tell Danny exactly what had happened.

Danny tightened his grip on Allison's hand. "Please tell me the son of a bitch is dead. Because if you tell me he came out of this unscathed I swear to you I'll kill him myself."

Ryan nodded in confirmation. "He was killed on scene by one of our officers."

"Good. At least you guys did something right."

The CSI opened his mouth to retort but was cut off when Sam spoke up. "Uncle Danny, that's not fair. They didn't know what was going to happened. Are you going to tell me that all you're undercover operations go off without a hitch?"

"Sammy baby," The blond started but quickly stopped when he saw the raised eyebrow of the teenager. "I'm sorry Mr. Wolfe. I did not mean to imply that you guys didn't do everything in your power to protect Allison or that you didn't know how do to your job."

Samantha beamed at him and wrapped her arm around his waist while he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close to his side. "Right now, the important thing is that she's alive and that she's going to get better."

The teen bent over and placed a delicate kiss upon her mother's forehead. Her necklace slipped out slightly from the top opened button of her blouse. That's when Ryan saw it, the heart shaped ring he had given Allison the day they became a couple. Without thinking he reached out and took the necklace in his hand. Taking notice of the dog tags, he ran his thumb delicately over the surface.

Sam was startled at first but then she caught the achingly soft expression on the CSI's face. "They're my mother's. The dog tags she gave to me when she transferred to the reserves, but the ring she says she gave to me when I was born. She's says my father gave it to her when he asked her to be his girlfriend."

Ryan instantly snapped his eyes up and looked into the green eyes that he was now beginning to understand why they looked so familiar. "Your father?"

"Yeah, it was all I have left of him. He died when I was just a baby. His name was Ryan." Said the teen. "Are you alright? You're looking pale."

"Died? But...I..." Ryan stuttered.

Danny quickly jumped in, rounding the bed to where Wolfe stood. "You are looking pale. Come on let's go outside to get some air." He said, guiding the man towards the door. "Sammy you stay here with your mother. We'll be right back."

Ryan Wolfe was in shock, that could be the only explanation as to why he let himself be manhandled out of the hospital room and to the waiting room. Once it had finished sinking in that he was indeed Sam's father he started to head back towards the room, intent on telling his daughter the truth.

Danny grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Hey, hey, where are you going?"

"Let go of me." Ryan said, pulling his arm out of the Detective's grip. "I'm going back in there to tell **my daughter **that I'm her father."

"No you won't."

"The hell I won't. She has a right to know that her dad's not dead."

"And how do you expect to do that? Are you just going to waltz back in there and say 'hey I'm your undead dad. Nice to meet you'? Oh yeah, 'cause that's going to go over well with a 15 year old. What do you think that she's going to do? Run into your arms and say 'I love you daddy'? I'm sorry to tell you this my friend but you're sadly mistaken."

Ryan ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Why does she think I'm dead? Or better yet why did Allison tell her I was dead, 'cause I knew that it was her."

"I've been asking her the same thing. Instead of telling her the truth. That her father is a selfish jerk that doesn't care about hurting an innocent's girl's feelings. And that all he cared about was getting inside her pants."

Ryan turned to look at the Detective incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about? I love Ali, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"Yeah right, if you loved her you would have been at that diner waiting for her like you promised."

"I waited at the diner for over half an hour and she never showed. When I got to the hotel she was already gone. It seems to me she was the one who was selfish and didn't care about hurting someone's feelings."

Danny snorted. "Ali told me that Abs went on her behalf with a letter explaining to you what had happened. Abs said she waited for you for over ten minutes and you never showed."

"Well then Abigail is a liar."

"Don't you dare call my cousin a liar. She may not have her priorities straight but she is not a liar."

At that moment Alexx walked into the waiting room. "What is going on here? Now this is not your local bar down the street. This is a hospital waiting room where both of you need to lower your voices and stop disrupting everyone around you."

"I'm sorry Alexx."

"Sorry Ma'am."

"Good, now I was coming to find you so I can tell you about Allison's condition." She said to Ryan.

Danny instantly stepped forward. "What's wrong with Ali? Is she ok?"

"I'm sorry, but you are?" Alexx asked.

"I'm Detective Danny William's, Allison's cousin."

"Allison is fine. If both of you would follow me back to her room I can talk to both of you and her daughter."

Dr. Woods turned to walk out of the waiting room but was stopped when Danny spoke up. "I'm sorry but I don't see any reason why Officer Wolfe should be informed about my cousins condition."

The brunette's heart clenched in his chest. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if the privilege of knowing how Allison was, was revoked. He needed to know that she was alright.

"You are absolutely right Detective, but as seeing that he and Lieutenant Caine were the ones that have been vigilant about Ms. Cahill's condition until now I thought that I would give them the common courtesy of keeping them informed, as I am to you. In reality the only person I should be keeping informed about Ms. Cahill's condition is her daughter. Now if you would like it that way both of you may stay here while I inform her of the change."

"No, no, that won't be necessary, we will both go with you." Danny said while glaring at Ryan, wanting to wipe the smirk off his face.

Both officers followed the doctor back to Allison's room. Once Ryan saw Sam again all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and tell her how much he loved her and that he would do anything to make up for all the years he was gone.

The teen looked at him with concerned eyes. "Are you feeling better Mr. Wolfe?"

Ryan smiled and nodded at her in confirmation. "Yeah, I'm all right sweet heart. Now, Dr. Woods is here to let us know how your mother is doing."

Sam immediately turned her attention to the Dr. "Is my mom alright?"

"Yes honey, your mom is alright. She's even better than alright. The swelling has gone down significantly and the tests that we have done on her show us her brain is functioning normally. We have started to wean her off the sedatives. My guess is that she'll probably start to wake up around this time tomorrow."

The teenager beamed up at the doctor and in turn to Ryan and her Uncle. "Did you hear that Uncle Danny? Mom's getting better."

Danny wrapped his arms around Samantha and squeezed her tight. "That's great news baby."

"Well I'm going to excuse myself. I have to finish making my rounds." Alexx said.

Ryan took a step towards her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you Alexx."

"No problem sweetheart." She said cupping his cheek. With that she excused herself once more and exited the room.

Ryan turned his attention back to his daughter and her uncle. "She's really special to you isn't she?" Sam asked looking towards the door.

The CSI smiled fondly. "She's like a mother to me. After my parents died in a car accident, she took it upon herself to make sure that me and my sister had everything that we needed. Granted, we were both old enough to take care of ourselves but that never stopped her."

"I'm sorry about your parents Mr. Wolfe. I know how you must feel."

He wanted to tell her so badly that she shouldn't know how it felt because neither of her parents were dead. He just simply kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into a hug.

In that moment the door swung open. "I'm here."

"Always one for an extreme entrance, Abs." Danny chided.

Abigail rolled her eyes then caught sight of the other male in the room. She couldn't believe that it was him, not after all these years. She noticed how he was holding Samantha close. 'Did they already know the truth?' she wondered to herself.

"Aunt Abby, I'm so glad that you're finally here." Sam said as she enveloped her Aunt in her arms.

Abby kept her eyes on Ryan over her nieces shoulder. From the look that he was giving her, it was obvious that he knew the truth and that he had millions of questions running through his head. She couldn't believe that this was her luck. After all these years she was certain that she would never see him again. Her heart rate speeded up tenfold in her chest.

"Aunt Abby the Dr. just came in and told us that mom is getting better, that the swelling is going down and she should be awake by this time tomorrow."

Abs reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the CSI to look at Samantha. "That is great news sweetie. I'm so happy. Listen I'm sorry that I'm so late but I couldn't get away from the office. I just-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know the story by heart Abs, no need for the well recited explanations."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Daniel?"

"It means that your work always comes before your family." Danny accused.

"That is totally not fair Danny and you know it. You better than anyone knows how busy work can get. You know how cases can take up time. I'm really am sorry, but one of the DAs was on vacation, so my work load had doubled."

"Yeah I know how cases can get, but the difference is that I dropped everything to get over here. It doesn't matter if you have double the work load or not, you are never there when we need you. Your sister could have died and you were nowhere to be found."

"Dan-"

"It doesn't matter now." Sam interrupted. "What matters now is that she's here now."

Danny pursed his lips and adverted his attention back to his cousin. "Aunt Abby I'd like you to meet one of mom's co-workers, officer Wolfe."

Deciding to play along with the charade, Ryan extended his hand to the younger brunette. All Abby could do was stare at the hand that was offered to her. A million things were going through her head. It was as if all her nightmares were coming true. The young lady reluctantly took Ryan's hand in hers and shook it.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Cahill."

"Likewise Officer."

Abigail quickly pulled her hand away, she couldn't stand the contact. She couldn't look into his eyes anymore because she could see and feel the judgment there. She caused him and her sister a whole world of pain, and she was never going to be forgiven.

A sudden ringing pierced through the room, cutting through the thick tension in the room. Ryan effectively pulled his cell out of his pocket and answered it.

"Wolfe." The CSI answered. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

Ending the call, he pocketed his cell once more. "I'm sorry I have to get to the lab. Looks like I have a lead."

Ryan stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "I'll try to be back later. If anything changes please let me know."

"We will." Sam assured. She stepped forward and placed a kiss on his cheek and gave him a brief hug.

Ryan smiled fondly at his daughter and caressed her cheek. He then turned and extended his hand to the detective. Danny hesitated slightly but, shook his hand.

"I'll see you later man." The blond bid farewell.

"Later."

He then turned to Abigail who was still standing by the door. "It was nice to meet you Ms. Cahill. Hope we get to talk real soon."

Abby swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She nodded at him as she moved to the side, to let him by. Ryan let his gaze linger on her a little while longer before he walked out of the room.

They were definitely going to talk soon. There were a lot of things that need to get straightened out.


	15. Guilt and Confessions

**A/N: **Sorry so late but it took me awhile to right this. I'm not entirely ok with it but I hope you guys like it.

_I feel guilty. My Words are empty. No signs to give you. Don't have the time for you. You say I'm heartless. And you say I don't care. I used to be there for you. An you've said I seem so dead. That I have changed, but so have you. Guilty. Guilty I feel so empty. Empty. You know how to make me feel. I put a shield upon you. Didn't mean to hurt you. I would have only poisoned your mind. Never meant to make you cry. You've been so thoughtless. I can see right through you. You used to be there for me. Don't you leave, say goodbye. Cause you have changed, but so have I._

_**~Guilty-The Rasmus**_

Chapter 15

Horatio walked into the hospital room where his daughter was still lying unconscious, with no signs on waking up anytime soon. She seemed like she wanted to take her time and make everyone wait.

The red head pulled up one of the chairs in the room, right up to the bed, and sat down. He gingerly placed Allison's hand in his, placing a soft delicate kiss on the back side.

"I see that you're intending to make us all wait." The Lieutenant said. "Your mother was always like that, said that it was good to be fashionably late."

Horatio smiled fondly at his memories. "Trisha was always up on the latest fashions and trends. She would always try to buy me expensive suits, but I would never let her. She would get mad at me, but she would always get over it."

He let out a deep sigh and pushed a stray hair out of Ali's face. "When I met your mother I had no idea that she was a married woman. I met her while on a case in New York, when I lived there. She came down to the precinct to invite me out to dinner. " Horatio looked up at his daughter's face, and continued. "I was reluctant at first, not wanting to mix my social life with work, but Trisha could be quite persuasive."

"We got to know each other over the course of a couple of weeks. Even though I knew that she was only in New York visiting a friend and that she would go back soon to where she lived, I still fell in love with her. Towards the end of the third week of her being there, I got promoted and offered a job here in Miami."

"I accepted of course, it was a great opportunity for me. I asked your mother to marry me and move with me to Miami. She declined of course, and said that she could never be the wife of a cop. I couldn't understand why she would shoot me down like that, I thought that she loved me and would be happy that I wanted to marry her. Then she told me the whole truth, that she was already married and was planning to start a family with him, that she would never throw away the opportunity to have a good life for one that was mediocre."

Horatio looked down at their entwined hands as he took in a deep breath before he continued. "Needless to say she never told me that she was pregnant. I never saw her again after that day. Then I heard about her death so I went to the funeral, intent and saying my last goodbye, but then I saw you. I never knew you existed until then. I wasn't sure you were my daughter, I just had a hunch. That's why I offered you the job, I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to know if you were mine."

"When I confirmed that you were my daughter the only thing that I could feel was happiness. I know that I'm a coward by telling you this while you're in a coma and that you probably can't hear me, but I promise you that when you wake up I will tell you everything that you want to know. And tell you that I'm your father. I love you Allison and I hope that when I tell you the truth, you'll be accepting of it and of me."

Horatio stood from his chair and leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead. "Please wake up soon."

With one last squeeze to her hand he turned and walked out of the room, not noticing the slight twitch in his daughter's hand or hearing the faint moan that escaped her lips.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI

Allison didn't know if she was dreaming or if she was awake. All she knew was that she kept hearing Horatio's voice. He kept repeating the same thing over and over again, 'I'm your father.' It was as if she was on some weird Star Wars trip, that she couldn't seem to shake off.

She didn't even know why she was dreaming this, if she was dreaming for that matter. Why would she even dream that Horatio was her father was beyond her. For starters she didn't even want to know who her real father was, she couldn't care less. And another thing why would a highly respectable Lieutenant have an affair with a married woman and have an illegitimate child with her? She seriously needed to wake up from this bad dream, and fast.

"Alright babe. Remember, Danno loves you."

_'Danno? What is Danny doing here? Where is he? How come I can't see him?'_

"Grace sends her love to the best Aunt in the world."

_'Gracie?'_ Allison was starting to feel anxious. She could hear Danny, but she couldn't see him.

"And says that you need to wake up soon so she can tell you how much she loves you."

_'I am awake!' _

Danny saw Ali's face scrunch up in a grimace.

"Babe? Allison, It's me Danny."

He cupped her face and pushed back her hair. Allison let out moan and lifted her hand to latch on to Danny's wrist, but was stopped by the heaviness of the cast. After a few seconds Ali's eyes slowly started to open. She stared bleary eyed up at her cousin, blinking a few times to try and focus.

"Danny?" She said, muffled by the oxygen mask on her face.

"Yeah it's me babe." He answered moving the mask out of the way. "How do you feel? Does anything hurt?"

Ali swallowed thickly a few times before she answered. "My side hurts and my arm, it feels heavy."

"Of course if feels heavy, you have a cast on it."

The CSI furrowed her eyes in confusion. "Cast?" She then looked down at her right arm. "Why do I have a cast?" Allison croaked. Danny noticed that she was starting to get antsy.

"It's ok hun."

"No. Not. Okay. Where, Where," Allison tried, as she lifted herself on her elbow but failed, landing back on the bed.

"You're in the hospital." Danny stated, as he reached for the call button and pressed it.

"What? Hospital?" Allison questioned. Her head was beginning to throb, all this felt like some type of twilight zone. One minute she's in a high speed chase and the next she wakes up in a hospital.

At that moment the door to the room swings open, allowing the nurse to walk in. "What can I do-" The nurse began to say but then noticed that her patient was awake.

"Can you please do something? She's starting to get a little agitated." Danny pleaded.

The nurse immediately rushed to her patients side and began to check her vitals. "Ms. Cahill I need you to calm down please." She implored, laying a soothing hand on Allison's arm.

The CSI seemed to start to calm down a bit. With her un-casted hand she pinched the bridge of her nose and moaned.

"Ms. Cahill, does your head hurt?" The nurse asked

"Yes, just a little." she huffed. "I'm feeling a little dizzy too, actually."

"Alright, I'll page the doctor and she'll come in as soon as she's able. I just need you to stay calm for me."

They both muttered a thank you as the nurse left the room. "Danny I think I have to puke."

"Ok, let me just, uh-" He was frantically trying to find a bucket.

"No, just forget it. It's going away."

There was another knock on the door and an African American woman walked in. "I see my favorite patient is awake now." She greeted.

"She was feeling nauseous." Danny informed.

"Alright." Dr. Woods acknowledged, as she began to check her vitals again.

"Ms. Cahill, you obviously know who you are and who Detective Williams is but I have to ask, do you remember what happened before you woke up here?"

"Umm, It's all a little hazy. I remember that I was in the back of a suspect's car in the middle of a high speed chase, then I wake up here."

Alexx and Danny proceeded to tell Allison what happened during the chase and what had happened the last couple of days.

"Wow, I can't believe that all that happened. Is Ryan okay?" Allison pursed her lips as soon as she heard the grumble that came from her cousin.

"My baby is alright, he's been vigilant on what's been going on with you since he brought you in."

"Good, I'm glad no one else got hurt."

"I'm going to order some more head scans. With the concussion that you have It's normal that you have headaches, dizziness, and nausea. I just want to make sure that everything is alright. You'll continue to feel a little groggy until the anesthesia wears off. I just want you to lay back and relax. Okay?"

"Thank you Dr." They both said.

As soon as the door closed Ali laid her head back on her pillow and let out a deep sigh. "I feel so tired."

"It doesn't surprise me. Your body has been through the ringer. I should call Sammy and let her know that you're awake."

Allison's head instantly flew up at the mention of her daughter. That proved to be a mistake when the whole room started spinning. "Whoa, take it easy babe."

"Geeze, with all this I forgot about Sam. How is she?"

"She's fine she went back with Abs to the house to get some rest."

"Abs is here?"

"Yeah, she was here a little late, but she's here."

"Ok good."

Allison laid her head back down and sleep overtook her instantly.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI

The next time Allison woke up Danny was still there along with Samantha and Abigail.

"Mom."

"Hey honey."

"God mom, I'm so glad that you're awake now." Sam said, gently hugging her mother. "You had me so scared."

Allison squeezed her daughter the best she could with just her left arm. "I know baby, I'm so sorry."

Samantha pulled away and Abigail stepped up beside her, taking her sister's hand. "How are you felling sis?"

"Like I got ran over by a bus." Ali said with a half smile.

Her sister snorted. "That's not exactly funny."

"I know, I'm sorry."

At that moment there was a light knock on the door. Danny went to open it and poked his head through the crack but he didn't open it all the way. Allison could hear him whispering to whoever was on the other side of the door and a clear 'I don't think that right now is the best time.'

"Danny who is it?" Ali asked.

The Detective finished opening the door to let the visitor in, only it wasn't exactly who she was expecting. There standing in the doorway was none other than Ryan Wolfe. Allison felt like she had just been punched in the stomach and she suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Hi!" Greeted Samantha, with a bright smile on her face. She took a few steps forward and wrapped her arms around the CSI, a gesture that has become automatic for the teen and just felt natural, it felt right. Allison's heart started beating faster in her chest as she saw the pair embrace.

"You two have met?" She asked hesitantly.

Green met blue and Allison could read every emotion that ran through Ryan's eyes. She could see fear, betrayal, but the emotion that she could see most of all, was anger, it was then that Ali knew that Ryan had found out the truth. But the question was, did Samantha know the truth? She instantly felt so guilty for not telling Ryan about their daughter.

"Yeah, Officer Wolfe and I met the day after you were admitted to the hospital. He's been here almost every day."

"So why are you hugging him if you've only known him for a couple of days?"

Sam looked up at Ryan and blushed as she pulled away. It was true, she had no idea why she was hugging him if she barely knew him. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

Ryan sent an icy glare towards Allison but then turned a sweet smile towards his daughter. "It's alright. I don't mind. You remind me of my baby sister. You have the brightest green eyes, just like her. You could be the daughter I never had."

Danny started coughing dramatically where he was standing by Ali's bed, drawing the CSI's attention. The detective was throwing daggers with his eyes, an automatic sign that Ryan needed to back down. His eyes swept over to Allison, who had the most terrified expression you could possibly imagine.

"Anyway," Ryan said. "I just came to see if you were awake and to see how you were doing, but I see that you're doing alright."

"Yeah, she's just dandy. So, maybe now you can leave." Danny stated.

"Uncle Danny." Sam chided.

The knock on the door shifted the tension in the room. "Come in." Allison said.

The door slowly creaked open Horatio walked through the threshold. When he saw Allison awake in the bed he have her a huge smile, that she returned in kind.

"Glad to see my favorite CSI is finally awake." He greeted.

"Whoa H, I'm hurt. I thought I was your favorite."

Sam and Horatio let out a laugh. "I'm sorry to disappoint you Mr. Wolfe."

"Thank you for stopping by Horatio. I really appreciate your concern and everything you have done for me and my daughter."

"It's no problem at all Ms. Cahill."

They all sat and chatted for a bit, albeit the tension in the room kept growing. It was getting late and Sam seemed to be dosing off on the couch. "It's getting late and I think Sam needs to go home and get some rest." Ali stated.

"Yeah and I think that it's time for her to go back to school now that you're awake and better." Danny added.

"I agree."

The Detective walked over to the sleeping teen and gently began to rouse her from her slumber. "Hey, Sammy. Wake up baby girl. Time to go home."

"I'll go get the car ready while you get her situated." Abigail piped up.

Danny nodded at her in conformation. Abby said goodbye to her sister and exited the hospital room to head towards the parking lot. Ryan turned to look at the closing door behind him. Right now was a good as a time as any to try and get some desperately needed answers to his questions.

The CSI bid his farewells and slipped out of the room before anyone thought better and started asking questions.

The blond Detective continued to gently wake up his niece. "Come on babe, time to get you home."

Samantha turned bleary eyes at her Uncle. "What time is it?"

"It's time to get your butt off that sofa. Let's go."

The teen rolled to set her feet on the ground, rubbing the sleep out her eyes. In one fluid motion she stood and walked over to her mother. "I want to stay here with you."

Allison grabbed her daughter's hand and squeezed it, as her heart tightened in her chest. The way Sam was looking at her was the same way she looked at her when she was six and she was leaving once again on a mission. Sam had begged and pleaded her to stay. It broke her heart then and it broke her heart now.

"I know that you do sweetheart but, you've spent to many days here already. You should go home and get some real rest because tomorrow missy, you need to go back to school."

Sam pouted. "But I don't want to go back to school yet."

"Sam, you've already missed two days."

"But-"

"Sammy, you listen to your mother." Danny Chided.

The teen turned and scowled at her Uncle and earning a smirk for her efforts. "Fine!"

In that moment the blonds' cell phone went off. "Hello?...Hey Kono...yeah everything's good here, she woke up today, just has a mild concussion...no, you tell that deranged Navy SEAL that he is not taking my baby girl anywhere..."

Allison and Sam turned confused looks at each other, as Danny continued on with his conversation. "He did what?...I leave for two days and he's already blown up half of Oahu...You tell Super SEAL not to call me that, it's only between me and my daughter, I already told him that, and no, I am not over reacting...hang on."

Danny turned to his niece, "Let's go baby girl before we don't get home because my crazy new co-workers give me an aneurysm."

"Ok."

The Jersey native bent down and placed a kiss on his cousins forehead. "Bye babe, I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you too."

With that he took Sam's hand and walked out the door, putting his phone back to his ear. "No Kono, I did not just declare my everlasting love to you."

Ali chuckled to herself. Danny was going to have his hands full with his new co-workers, but she had a feeling that he was going to be happy with his new job.

With a smile she turned and looked at the only person left in the room, her boss. "She's a little stubborn."

"I see, but she's a good kid."

"I don't know what I would do without her."

Horatio smiled at her. "Anyone would be privileged to have a daughter like her."

Allison smiled warmly back at him and started to chuckle softly to herself. The Lieutenant furrowed his eyebrows curiously at her. "What's so funny?"

"Well, just before I woke I was dreaming. I dreamt that you were telling me that you were my father. It was weird, it almost felt like it was real. Isn't that silly?"

Horatio's smile slowly faltered from his face as he heard the words of his CSI. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Never in a million years had he ever thought that she would have heard the words of his confession. The red head didn't know what to tell her. He could keep quiet and play along that in fact it was just a dream or he could tell her the truth once and for all. Horatio looked down at Ali with weary eyes, this needed to get done. He was tired of hiding the truth. This needed to be done.

"Horatio?"

He took in a deep breath before he spoke. "It wasn't a dream."

Allison furrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

"Me telling you that I'm your father wasn't a dream. When you were still unconscious I confessed to you that I was your father."

The Ex-Naval Officer buried her face in her hands. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lieutenant Caine stretched out his hand and placed it on her shoulder but, Allison instantly pulled away.

"Don't touch me."

"Ali please-"

"Don't! You only brought me onto this team because I was your daughter. You never believed in me."

"That's not true."

Ali wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "You have done nothing but lie to me since the day you met me. I will never trust you. You are not my father. My father was Jonathon Cahill, and I buried him 2 years ago. You are nothing but a man who has affairs with married women and breaks up households. You're a man who manipulates and lies to people to get what he wants. My father was nothing like that. My father was a good man, and you are not him."

The tears wear now flowing freely down Allison's face. She looked up at her boss and saw the hurt and sadness in his eyes, and for a brief second she had regretted all the words that she had said.

"Ali I-"

"Please go! I don't want to see you. You'll have my resignation on your desk as soon I get up on feet again."

For a moment Horatio just stood still looking disbelievingly at his daughter while she just looked straight ahead at the wall, not even bothering to acknowledge him.

"Please Sir. Just leave."

Horatio slowly turned around and hesitantly walked to the door. He gradually opened the door but before he walked through it he turned and looked at his daughter one last time. This wasn't exactly how he had pictured this going. Everything was wrong. Horatio quietly closed the door behind him. He had just lost his daughter once again.

CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI ~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI~CSI

Mean while outside Ryan was weaving through parked cars to catch up with Abigail, hoping that he would be able to get an explanation out of her.

"Abby!" He yelled.

Ali's sister turned as soon as she heard her name being called, although it wasn't who she expected it to be. She felt her heart speed up in her chest. Ryan had her where he wanted. She had nowhere to go.

"We need to talk." Ryan started, once he reached her.

"About what?" She asked, playing innocent.

Ryan was already beginning to get angry. "You know what Abigail, don't act dumb. Why does Allison believe that I wasn't at the diner waiting for her?"

"Ryan, I think that you've finally gone crazy because I don't know what you're talking about."

The CSI felt his blood begin to boil. How could she be acting so calm and innocent? He was so sure that she was lying and she was the one that was responsible that Allison thought that he didn't love her.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about Abby. I was there at the diner 16 years ago. You were the one that didn't show up and you made Ali believe that I wasn't. You made her believe that I didn't love her and that's why she made Sam believe that her father was dead."

Abigail's heart clenched in her chest. It killed her to see Ryan so desperate like this. All the guilt that she thought that she had suppressed came back up again, rearing its ugly face. She wanted so badly to tell him the truth. Technically there was nothing holding her back anymore, her mother was dead and she was a grown woman with a profession, but she knew if she said the truth both Ali and Sam would hate her. She knew that Sam would hate Ali for telling her that Ryan was dead and she couldn't let her sister suffer like that again.

"Don't you think that you've caused Ali enough pain? You need to stop lying to her. I went to that diner and you weren't there. You never loved her. You have to stay away from her and from Sam."

Ryan looked at the woman in front of him incredulously. She had changed so much. She wasn't the same innocent twelve year old he met so many years ago. Now she was this cold heartless woman.

Abby felt herself cower back at the judgment that she found in the CSI eyes. She knew that she was breaking his heart all over again, but there was nothing she could do.

"How can you live with yourself?" Ryan asked. "How can you sleep at night and wake up in the morning knowing that you've torn your family's life apart? You're calling me a liar? You should look at yourself in the mirror before you start pointing your finger at other people."

Wolfe heard faint footsteps approaching behind him. He turned and saw Danny walking up to them, Sam following close behind.

"Is everything alright?" The blond asked.

"Everything's fine." Abigail was quick to answer. "Ryan and I were just talking about how good it is to see Ali awake."

"Your name's Ryan?" Sam asked. "Like my father?"

Ryan turned to look at the other two adults. He noticed the glare that Danny shot at his cousin for letting his name slip out of her mouth.

"Yeah honey, my name is Ryan, just like your father."

Sam beamed up at Ryan when he confirmed.

"Well we should be going." Danny interrupted. "You need to get some rest little lady, so you can head back to school tomorrow."

The teen pouted and turned to Ryan. "Bye, Ryan."

"Bye sweetheart. Remember you have my number. Call me with whatever you need."

"I will."

Ryan looked at Danny. "I'll see you tomorrow Detective."

Danny nodded in confirmation and then Ryan turned to look at Abigail. "Good to see you Abby. Hope you sleep well."

And with that he turned to head to his car, leaving Abigail like a bundle of nerves.


	16. Uncovered Truths

**A/N: **I'm finally finished with the chapter.Sorry again for the tardiness. I'm trying really hard to get these out faster. Sometimes it's really hard to get on paper what you have mapped out in your head. Hope you guys love it and are still ready.

**Disclaimer: **Still the same. Don't own them, just my OFC.

_I need another story. Something to get off my chest. My life gets kinda boring. Need something that I can confess. 'Til all my sleeves are stained red. From all the truth that I've said. Come by it honestly I swear. Thought you saw me wink, no I've been on the brink, so Tell me what you want to hear. Something that will light those ears. Sick of all the insincere. So I'm gonna give all my secrets away. This time don't need another perfect lie. Don't care if critics ever jump in line. I'm gonna give all my secrets away._

**~Secrets-One Republic**

Uncovered Truth:

Two days have passed and Allison was finally being discharged from the hospital, needless to say it was something the CSI was very happy about. In those couple of days neither Horatio nor Ryan had showed up. Of course she had told Horatio that she didn't want to see him and not to bother showing up but, she was curious as to why Ryan hadn't come. She had expected he would have come to see her and demand a reason as to why she never told him about their daughter.

The Ex-Naval Officer had been living those couple of days in fear, fear that she would lose her daughter forever. Fear, that Ryan was going to take away the one thing that was most important to her. She hadn't felt this way since when she was giving birth and they had told her that there was complications and that the baby might not make it.

"Mom?"

Allison was pulled out of her thoughts when her daughter called her name. "Yeah, honey?"

"Have you not heard anything of what I just said?"

The CSI turned to her daughter and gently cupped her face. "I'm so sorry Sam. I just have so many things on my mind right now. Tell me, what were you saying?"

Sam let out a sigh. "That Ryan seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah he is."

"And he's kind of cute too."

Ali froze in place and slowly turned to look at her daughter. "Sam, are you trying to tell me that you're attracted to Ryan?"

Sam looked at her mother in horror. "Ewww, NO! He's way older than me. He could be my father!"

The CSI let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I just meant that he's a nice guy for you. You know, maybe you could ask him out for coffee or something. He seems to be interested in you. You should have seen the way he looked at you, like he was afraid of losing you."

"I'm not going to ask him out for coffee or ask him out period. And I don't think that he's interested in me."

The teen let out a huff of annoyance. "How do you know he's not interested in you? I'm sorry to tell you mom but, you're kind of slow at realizing that someone is interested in you."

Ali smirked at the teen. "Is that right?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed. "Like the neighbor we had in Jersey a few months before we moved here. The one with the gorgeous blue eyes."

"Jason?"

"Yes, Jason. He totally had the hots for you."

"No he didn't."

"Yes he did. He would think of any excuse plausible enough to come knocking on the door, even the old 'can I have a cup of sugar please'."

The Ex Naval Officer looked incredulously at her daughter and just simply pursed her lips and shook her head. Her daughter had a very active imagination.

"And what about Steve."

"What about Steve?"

"Oh come on mom! Don't tell me that you didn't see that he was madly in love with you?"

That, she did know. Steve had said it on more than one occasion to her when they had fallen into bed with each other. He had thought that she was sleeping. Steve had placed a soft kiss on her forehead and murmured the loving words softly into her ear. It killed her that she couldn't reciprocate his feelings. She knew that it would be so easy to fall in love with him if she gave herself that chance but, she didn't want to hurt him any further because she knew that even though it was easy to fall for him, it was never going to happen. She would always love Ryan.

"No sweetheart, I did see how he felt about me but, you know just as well as I do that I was never going to feel the same."

"I know! You've said that numerous of times but, mom, you have to move on it's been years since dad's death and I really think that Ryan is a good guy for you."

Allison felt her chest tighten at her daughter saying that her father was dead. Now that her secrets and lies were coming to the surface, talking about it made her heart hurt worse than ever.

"Listen baby, I know that you want to see me happy and that you think that if I'm with someone it would make me happy but, the truth is that I'm happy being alone. All I need to be happy is you."

"But Ryan-"

"Is engaged." Allison interrupted.

"What?"

"Ryan is engaged with one of the lab techs at work and they are happy together. Now you see why I can't ask him out for coffee or why I say that I don't think that he's interested in me?"

Samantha looked crestfallen at the news that the potential prince charming for her mother was already taken but, she couldn't shake the feeling that Ryan was in love with his mother.

At that moment Detective Williams walked through the door and walked over to his cousin. "What's with the pouty look?"

Sam glared at her Uncle and pouted even harder causing the blond to raise a curious eyebrow at Allison. "Sam here was trying to play cupid and wanted to set me up with Ryan."

Danny's eyebrows went straight up to his hairline. He wasn't really surprised that Samantha had picked up on the connection between her mother and Ryan. He looked at his cousin with a questioning look but, she just simply brushed him off.

"So am I ready to get out of here?"

"Uh yeah, I got your discharge papers here. You just have to sign them and the nurse will be in with a wheelchair."

"I don't need a wheelchair. I can walk out of here just fine."

"It's standard procedure and you know it babe. So, when the lovely nurse comes in you are not going to give her hell about it, understood?"

Ali just simply rolled her eyes and sat down to sign the papers as best as she could, considering that her dominant hand was casted. Danny just smiled and laughed at Allison's stubbornness. At that moment there was a small knock on the door and the nurse walked in with the wheelchair.

"Is the patient all set to go?"

"Yeah, but do I,-"

"Ali." Danno chided.

The CSI let out I sigh. "Fine."

Allison stood, handed the signed discharge papers to the nurse, and reluctantly sat down in the wheelchair. Within seconds they were on their way out the door and headed to the lobby. Danny quickly went for the car and pulled up to where Sam and Ali were waiting. Both ladies got into the awaiting vehicle and soon they were on their way home.

Williams had already familiarized himself with the route from the hospital to his cousins home and he was there in no time flat. Danny got out and quickly rounded the car to help Allison out of the car. All three made their way inside, Sam closing the door behind them.

The teen plopped her mother's bag by the couch and headed towards the stairs. "I'm gonna go finish some homework. Do you need anything mom?"

"No honey, you go on ahead. Your Uncle is going to go in the kitchen and make me something delicious to eat, just the way Aunt Mags showed him."

Sam and Ali giggled at the scowl that appeared on Danno's face. "You're lucky that you're my favorite cousin and that I love you. Go on Sammy baby, I'll take care of your mother."

"Thank you Uncle D." The teen said, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before she ascended the stairs.

The two cousins made their way to the kitchen. While Danny began to potter around, looking for pots and pans, Allison sat in one of the bar stools watching contently. It reminded her of when they were back in Jersey and they would try to make Danny's mom breakfast in bed.

"When are you going to tell her?" Danny asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"I can't." Was the quiet response.

"Ali-"

"I know Danny, I know. Even though she'll hate me I know that I have to tell her the truth. These past couple of days in the hospital, that's all I've been thinking about. I was scared to death that Ryan was going to come with a damn court order demanding his rights over her. It scares me to death that he's going to take her away from me."

"Come on Ali, from what you've told me about him you don't really believe that he would do something like that, do you?"

She looked up at her cousin. "If you would have asked me that 16 years ago my answer would have been no, without hesitation but, now I'm not so sure."

The Ex-Jersey cop pursed his lips with a thoughtful expressions. It's true, a person could change after many years. He turned back around and continued to search the cupboards for what he needed.

"Danny, how am I supposed to tell her that Ryan Wolfe is her father and that he's not dead?"

The detective turned around to give his answer and stood frozen once he caught sight of the figure in the doorway. "I think you already did."

"What?" Ali asked turning around. What she saw there made her heart stop. Standing in the kitchen doorway was Samantha, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sam." Ali whispered.

"Ry...Ryan...is my father?" Sam stuttered, tears finally betraying her and cascading freely down her cheeks. "You said he was dead."

"Sam honey-"

"You lied to me. You told me he was dead. Why would you do something like that?" The teen yelled.

The CSI jumped off the stool and took a step towards her daughter, causing her to take a step back. Her worst nightmares were coming true.

"Sammy, please let me explain." Sam pleaded.

"Explain what mom? That you deprived me of a father. That you denied me his love, his hugs, his kisses. How could you do this to me? Does he know who I am?"

Ali wiped a trailing tear before she answered. "He didn't. Not until a few days ago."

"So you screwed him over too?"

"Samantha, that's enough." Danny growled.

The teen redirected her anger towards the only person that she looked at as a father. "Don't Uncle Danny. You don't get to tell me that it is enough. You knew the truth and you never told me. I trusted you. I looked at you as father and you just stabbed me in the back."

Danny turned away. He couldn't even look her in the eyes. She was right. He promised her that he would look over her and would never hurt her but, he did just the opposite.

"Please Sam, can you just listen to my reason why I told you Ryan was dead."

"I don't want to hear any of your lies any more. You ruined my life. I hate you."

Sam turned and quickly ran up the stairs before anyone could stop her. Allison started to go after her but, Danny pulled her back by the arm and stopped her. "Don't Ali, let her go. You're not going to get through to her right now. Come here."

The blond pulled her into his arms. Ali buried her face into his chest, fisting his shirt in her hand. Danny wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to comfort her as much as he could.

"She hates me Danny." She said between cries. "I lost my little girl."

"Shhh, It's ok honey. She doesn't hate you." He said while raking his fingers through her hair. "Just give her time. She'll come around. You have to understand her Ali. This is all a shock to her right now."

Ali pulled away from the blonde's embrace and made an advance towards the stairs. "I have to talk to her Danny."

He pulled her back once more and sat her back on to the stool. "No, you're not. You're going to sit there and wait till she cools down for a bit. Put yourself in her place, you'd be the last person you'd want to talk to right now."

"Danny I can't-"

"Yes, yes you can."

Williams bracketed her face delicately in his hands, rubbing away the tears with his thumbs. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he spoke. "Everything is going to be ok, I promise you."

Allison slumped back in the stool in resignation. She didn't like waiting, it wasn't one of her strongest features. She just wanted to go up there and beg her daughter for forgiveness. It didn't matter if she had to get on her hands and knees, she just wanted her baby girl back.

Over twenty minutes had passed and Ali couldn't wait any longer. Taking advantage that her cousin was in the bathroom, she quickly ascended the stairs. Once she reached her daughter's bedroom she softly knocked on the door.

"Sammy, honey? Please talk to me. I need to tell you what happened."

She waited for a few seconds but, there was no response. The Ex-Naval Officer took the knob of the door and slowly turned it to open it. She expected to find her daughter curled up in her bed crying, only she wasn't there.

"Sam?" Ali called out.

She walked further into the room and walked into her bathroom but, didn't find her. It was then that she noticed it. Her closet door was partially open, peering in through the cracks and opening it further. Some of her clothes were missing. Panic started to rise in Allison's chest.

"Oh God! DANNY! SHE'S GONE!"

The blond came bustling up the stairs, slightly out of breath. "What? What's going on?"

"She's gone Danny. Sam's gone."

"What? How?"

"I don't know! She must have snuck out while we were in the kitchen."

"Ok we'll see if we can track her cell phone. We'll call MDPD see if they can help. Ok, we're going to find her."

"Ok."

Allison swiftly ran downstairs to make the necessary phone calls to find her daughter.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI

Ryan peered outside his kitchen window once more as he finished up the last of the dishes. The rain had started pouring a little over twenty minutes ago. The rain had always been soothing to him, even when he was a little boy. He loved the soft rhythm of the droplets against the windows. The CSI finally sat down on his couch to relax after a long day at the lab when there was a knock on the door.

With a heavy sigh he pushed himself of the sofa and walked over to the door, pulling it open with a flourish. He didn't expect to see the person that was standing there.

"Daddy!"

Within seconds he was being enveloped into the delicate arms of his daughter, her clothes sopping wet from the rain. After the initial shock wore off, Ryan instantly wrapped his arms tightly around her. He had longed for this moment since the day he found out about her.

They pulled apart and Ryan bracketed her face with his hands. "Sweetheart, your soaking wet. Let's get you inside and get some dry clothes on you."

He ushered her in and straight into the bathroom while he ran to the linen closet for some towels. He also grabbed a t-shirt and sweatpants from Alice's room.

"Here you go honey, these are my sisters. You two look about the same size."

"Thank you."

Sam took the offered garments and softly closed the door. Ryan walked back to his living room and sat back down on his sofa to wait. A couple of minutes later the teen emerged from the bathroom. She shyly walked into the living and stood at the end of the couch.

"Please sit down." Ryan offered.

He half expected her to sit on the other sofa but, she didn't. She took the seat right next to him and snuggled up to his side, Ryan in turn wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"How did you find out?"

"Mom and Uncle Danny were talking in the kitchen and I overheard."

"Did she tell you why?"

"No, she tried but, I didn't let her. I didn't want to hear anymore of her lies."

Ryan squeezed her shoulder. "You shouldn't be so hard on your mother."

Sam pulled away and looked disbelievingly at her father. "Why are you defending her?"

"Because I have a feeling that she has a really good reason for the things that she's done."

"Dad, there is no reason strong enough to justify her letting me grow up without a father."

"Sam-" Ryan started.

"No, I don't want to hear what she has to say. I don't want to be with her anymore, that's why I left."

The officer sat up straight. "What do you mean you left?"

"I ran away." Samantha stated flatly.

"Sam, you can't do that!"

"Why are you getting angry?"

Ryan let out a sigh. "I'm not getting angry. It's just that your mother's probably worried about you, that's all."

"Why does this all have to be about her? How she's feeling? How about what we're feeling? Doesn't that matter?"

Tears were now flowing freely down her face once more. He gently cupped her cheeks, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "Of course it matters how we feel. Sam, I know your angry with your mom but, you can't make a conscious decision when you're like this. You have to talk to her sooner or later."

"Well, I rather it be later, much later. Right now I just want to sit with my dad and talk with him."

Ryan smiled brightly at his daughter. It made his heart flutter in his chest every time she called him 'dad'.

"I want to get to know you." Sam continued. "I want to tell you everything about me."

He took her hand in his. "And I would love to hear everything about you but, there's something I have to do first."

"What's that?"

"I have to go and talk with your mother, let her know you're here."

"No, dad, please!" Sam begged.

"Sam I have to."

The teen slumped back into the couch, pout full blown on her face. Ryan smiled at himself. So, this was the famous pout most parents can't say 'no' to. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her. Sam frowned up at him and fixed him with a glare. She almost succeeded in breaking him down but, Ryan knew that if he didn't tell Ali were Sam was, she would literally kill him and that was not the way for him to get his little girl back.

"That pout is not going to work on me. Now, you can help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen. Just, please don't make a mess and put things back were you found them."

"Jeeze, it's like you're OCD or something."

Ryan looked sheepishly at her. "I am."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh God dad, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you or anything."

"It's fine Sam." Ryan cut in. "Just, please make yourself at home. Hopefully, I won't be long. If you get tired and want to sleep, the room down the hall has a bed."

"Okay."

Ryan kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye before heading out to his car. On his way over he tried calling Ali but he just kept getting a busy signal. So, he just forfeited the idea and made it to her house. Once there he walked up to her doorstep and knocked on the door. Within seconds the door swung open. Ryan felt bad when he saw the desperation on Allison's face.

"Ryan, right now is not a good time. Sam's runaway and-"

"I know." he interrupted. "She's at my house."

"She's what?"

Ryan looked past her shoulder and saw Danny and Abby in the background. He heard the Detective mutter something along the lines of 'hold off on that tracking' to someone named Chin. He was right in assuming that Allison was doing everything possible to locate her daughter.

"How did she know where you lived?"

"I gave her my address and number when you were in the hospital, just in case she needed anything."

Danny came up behind his cousin and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you bring her back?"

"Because she doesn't want to come back."

Ryan's heart clenched at the look of horror that flickered across Allison's face.

"And of course you're taking advantage of the situation to make yourself look like the victim in all of this." Danny spat.

The CSI turned and glared at the blond. "Look, can we just please go inside to talk about this instead of yelling at each other out here in front of everyone?" Asked Ryan.

Allison stepped to the side, opening the door wider to let Ryan through. Danny was about to protest the decision but his retort was cut short when Ali looked at him with a fixed stare. Ryan made his way to the living room, noting that Abs had already made a hasty retreat.

"I'm going upstairs to pack." Danny said. "My flight leaves early tomorrow."

Allison thanked him with a squeeze to his hand. This was a conversation that she and Ryan needed to have on their own. Both CSIs sat down in awkward silence until Ryan made the effort to start the discussion.

"Why did you tell her I was dead?"

"Because that is what you were to me."

Ryan felt as his heart fell down to his stomach. After all these years of wondering if she still loved him, his question was answered. He had spent day in and day out thinking about her. He had never allowed himself to fall in love again for the fear of getting hurt again.

"That's too bad, because there was never a day that I didn't think about you. I spent all those years wondering where you were, if you remembered me. Now I know that, that night we spent together meant nothing to you." Ryan seethed.

"It meant everything to me."

The CSI let out a bitter laugh. "I see that it meant so much to you that it never occurred to you to say goodbye, you just left. It meant so much to you that you never thought to find me and tell me that I had a daughter. You just preferred to lie to her."

"I tried to say goodbye Ry. When I came back to the hotel I found my family packing. My mother was just going to leave me there because she thought that I had runaway with you. The only thing that was stalling them is that my father went looking for me, otherwise I'm sure that my mother would have been long gone. I wanted to go and tell you but my mom said that she would press charges against your parents for kidnapping."

"What?"

Wolfe knew that Allison's mother hated him and that she was against their relationship but, he never knew that she would go to such an extreme to separate them.

"I couldn't let that happen Ryan, so I just stayed and packed. I wrote you a letter and gave it to Abs so she could go down to the diner and give it to you but she says that you never showed."

"That is a lie because I was there Ali, I promise you. I promise you on my parents grave that I was there. I was there for over a half hour waiting for you. Abigail never showed."

"I don't know what to tell you Ryan because I believe my sister. Abby would never lie to me."

Ryan was about to retort when someone else entered the conversation. "He's telling the truth."

Both CSIs turned to find Abigail standing nervously behind the couch. Ryan felt a sense of relief because he knew that everything was going to be out in the open now and maybe he could get Ali back.

"What did you just say?" Allison asked.

"I said that Ryan was telling the truth. He was there at the diner waiting for you. I was the one that didn't show." Abs responded.

Ali looked at her sister in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. Her own sister had lied to her and had ruined her life. It was her fault that she never saw Ryan again and it was her fault that now her daughter hated her.

"You lied to me?"

"Ali let me explain."

"You ruined my life!" Ali exclaimed causing Abby to cower away.

At that moment Danny cam hustling down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"Do you realize what you've done?" Ali asked. "How could you do this to me?"

"It wasn't my intention to hurt you. I went to deliver that letter to Ryan but, mom stopped me in the hallway and took it away from me. I tried to stop her but I couldn't. She told me not to talk to you or Ryan about this and if I did she was going to send me away to boarding school and I would never get to see you or dad again."

Abigail was sobbing uncontrollably now, supplicating her sister for forgiveness. Allison couldn't believe that this was happening. Even after death her mother was making her suffer. All these years of pain could have been avoided if Abby would have talked and told the truth.

Ali sat down on the couch, elbows on her knees, head hanging down. "Mom didn't send you away, she sent me away."

"Ali I'm sorry."

"All these years and you never said anything. Now I understand why you were so desperate to set me up with people, with Steve. It was your way of working with the guilt."

"I'm sorry Ali but I couldn't."

"You had every opportunity to tell the truth. If you would have said something everything would be so different now. Only now, my daughter hates me and it seems that I lost my best friend too."

Abs placed a hand on her sister's arm. "Ali please."

The CSI immediately snatched her arm away from her sister's grip. "Please don't touch me. Right now, I really can't be around you."

Abs went to grab Allison's arm again only Danny stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that right now is a good time babe. Why don't you head upstairs, give her some time."

The young lady let out a strangled sob before she nodded and did as she was told. After the faint click of the door was heard, an daunting silence fell upon the room.

"You should try to understand why she did what she did." Ryan stated.

Danny huffed out a laugh. "It surprises me that you of all people is defending her right now. Considering that you are the one that lost the most in all of this."

"Yeah, well, she was scared. She didn't want to lose her family."

"Well, she might have lost it anyway." Allison piped up.

Both men turned their attention to the Ex-Naval Officer. Danny pursed his lips. "Babe you-" The Detective started.

"Danny if she would have told me I would have done everything possible to find Ryan, to let him know about Sam."

"Yeah and then your mother would have followed through on her threat. You know better than anyone that she would have followed through with it."

"I would not have let her do that."

The blond raised an eyebrow at her. "And how would you have done that? The same why you stopped her from sending you away to grams' house?

Allison leaned back on the sofa and let out a deep sigh. "I can't think about this right now. All I want is for Sam to come back home."

Both cousins turned to look at Ryan expectantly. "I think that you should let her sleep at my house tonight. You're not the only one that needs time to think and cool off. And besides, it's late. She might be already sleeping."

Ali was about to retort but Danny cut her off. "He's right. Everyone just needs to get some sleep, and tomorrow is a new day."

"Fine." Allison sighed.

Ali ushered Ryan to the door. He stepped on to the front steps and turned around. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

The brunette leaned forward and placed a soft kiss onto her cheek. "I love you." He whispered.

He stepped back and just simply smiled at the shocked expression on her face. With that he turned and walked off to his car leaving the glimmer of hope in his wake.


	17. Stitch by Stitch

**A/N:** I am extremely sorry that this is so late. I had hoped to have posted this sooner but time got away from me and these last few months have been hard. Not to mention that I wrote and re-wrote this chapter a million times. Hope all you are still reading this and that you enjoy it. Thanks in advance for the comments.

**Disclaimer: **Still the same. Don't own them, just my OFCs.

_Blue and black, heart torn out, you uncover what's beneath my skin. There and back, there's no doubt, your touch is my medicine. I'll be okay, 'cause you heal me. And I'll give you all my pieces broken. In your hands, there's nothing that you can't fix. My heart is frayed, my scars are open. So put me back together now, stitch by stitch. Put me back together now, stitch by stitch._

_**~Stitch by Stitch-Javier Colon**_

Stitch by Stitch:

Ryan Wolfe was sound asleep when something soft, but with force came in contact with his head. He immediately rolled over and sat up straight like a rocket in his bed. He reached instinctively for his gun until he realized who was standing at the foot of the bed, with the object in question in her hand.

"What the hell Al?" Ryan asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" She asked, flinging the pillow in her hand at Ryan's head once more. "I'll tell you what I'm doing here. I came back from my vacation and told myself 'Boy I'm really tired. I'm just going to go to my room and take a little nap in my bed.' But you know what I found when I walked into my room?"

Ryan opened his mouth to answer but Alice continued on. "A girl Ry! I found a girl in my bed. Who the hell is she? Don't tell me she's another one of your dumb ass girlfriends because the last time a checked you were engaged. For Christ's sake Ry, she doesn't look more than 15."

The rambling had stopped and Al looked expectantly at her brother. "Can I talk now?" He asked.

"You better talk before I beat the crap out you."

"She's your niece."

"I'm sorry, come again. She's my what?"

"She's your niece. You know, that relative you get when your siblings have kids?"

Al glared at her older brother. "I know what a niece is, jerk. What I want to know is who the hell you got knocked up."

"Allison."

The girl's eyes grew wide in her head. "Allison? Allison from all those years ago, Allison?"

Ryan let out a sigh. "Yeah that Allison."

Alice's mouth opened and shut but no sound came out. She was in total shock, she was speechless. She couldn't believe that she was back after all these years. Anger suddenly flared up in the young lady's chest. How dare she come back into her brother's life and just drop a child on his lap?

"What the hell is she doing here? How did she find you?"

"She's the new CSI on our team, Horatio brought her in. And I don't think that she was trying to find me, considering that she was just as surprised to see me at the lab as I was of her."

"So what does she want? Does she want alimony? Ry, do we even know if she's even yours?"

Ryan huffed out a laugh. "Have you seen her Al? She looks like you. She looks like mom when she was young. When you see her eyes, you'll know that she's mine."

Alice felt her heart warm and some of the anger leave her body as she saw the genuine smile that graced her brother's face. She hadn't seen him smile like that in years, since he met Allison. Al sat on the bed with her brother and took his hand in hers.

"Wow Ry. This is a lot to take in. Why didn't you tell me about this as soon as you found out?"

"Because you were on vacation and you told me not to bother you with anything unless it was an emergency."

"Um finding a long lost daughter constitutes as an emergency."

"I'm sorry Al but I thought that it could wait until you got back. I didn't want to ruin your vacation by you worrying about me. You went to Hawaii to relax."

"Yeah I did but-"

"No buts sis. It's done and over with. You know now."

"Ok so what now? Why is she here?"

Ryan took in a deep breath. "She found out that her mother was lying when she said that I was dead. They had a fight and she ran away."

His sister furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "She told her you were dead?"

Ryan let out a sigh and began to tell his sister all the events that happened in the past few days. All the while she was listening to everything he had to say she couldn't believe what she was hearing. This conjured up a whole new anger towards Allison.

"I can't believe that little-'

"Al!"

"What!? It's true and you know it. Everything was a low, even for her. You had every right to know about Sam even though she thought that you didn't love her. Your feeling towards her don't change the fact that you had legal rights to your daughter."

"Your right but I'm willing to ignore that if that means I have a chance to form a family with Allison and Samantha."

"You still love her don't you?"

"More than anything."

"And what about Molly?"

"She called off our engagement. She finally understood that I was never going to love her the way she loved me."

"Well ok then. This will all be sorted out. I want to go with you when you go talk with Ali."

"Of course not."

"I want to be there for moral support."

"No, you want to be there just in case you see Abby so you can tear her eyes out." Ryan said with slight bemusement.

"That too." Al said. "I'm still going no matter what you say."

"Al-"

"Come on." She said ignoring Ryan and getting off the bed. "Come make me breakfast. I want pancakes."

"God you are so demanding." Ryan growled as he rolled out of the bed and padded into the bathroom.

Alice descended the stairs and made her way to the kitchen where she began to take out the ingredients necessary for her pancakes. She bent down to grab a bowl from the cabinets below and was startled to find the young girl standing in the door way to the kitchen.

"Jesus!" Alice exclaimed as she clutched a hand to her chest. "You about near gave me a heart attack."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just looking of my dad."

Ryan come bounding down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen doorway next to his daughter. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Oh nothing," Al started. "That your daughter here seems to take after you because she likes to scare the crap out of people."

The CSI shook his head while smiling. "I see that you've met your Aunt Alice."

"Hey kid," but before Alice could finish her sentence the teen had effectively wrapped herself around her. Al at first didn't know what to do with her hands, holding them up in the air as if in surrender, but then she enclosed them around the young girl just as tightly.

They pulled apart and Alice studied her nieces face carefully. Ryan was right, she could see features of their mother in the teens face. "She has mom's eyes." Al choked out, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I do?"

"I told you." Ryan gloated.

"Where is she?" Sam asked. "You're mother. My grandma."

Ryan and Alice looked at each other, each one giving the other a sorrowful look. "She passed away, her and our dad were in an accident 6 years ago."

Sam looked away and gazed solemnly down at the kitchen floor. "I'm sorry."

After a heartbeat or two Alice stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Samantha's shoulders. "Enough of the sad pouty faces. Right now, is a time to be happy because we found each other. Now, why don't you go and wash up while your daddy here makes us his famous, delicious, chocolate chip pancakes."

"Thanks for that praise little sis. But, I do have to say that my chocolate chip pancakes are one of the best in Miami."

Alice and Sam giggled. "Alright, I'll be right back to taste one of those famous pancakes."

The teen left the room and brother and sister got to work on making breakfast. They all sat down together and ate their meal. Samantha had to agree that they were one of the most delicious pancakes she has had, not even her mom's were as good as the ones she had just eaten. After they finished eating they were on their way to Allison's house, minus Alice, which she wasn't too happy about but Ryan thought it best she stayed behind.

Once they arrived they walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. Within seconds the door flew open. "Sam." Ali stepped forward, only the teen took a step back.

"I just want you to know," Sam started. "I'm not here because I want to be, I'm here because he forced me to come."

"Samantha," Ryan tried.

"No dad, she has to know that I'm not ok with this. I'm here under duress." She finished, with her arms folded across her chest.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Can we come in please?"

Allison stepped aside so that they could come into the house. As they were coming through the threshold Danny came down the stairs, fixing Wolfe with a stare and then turning soft eyes onto his niece.

"Don't," Sam started to say.

"Listen-" Daniel interjected. "I just wanted to say that I hope that you guys work something out that benefits everyone. And Sam, I'm sorry that I never told you the truth about Ryan. I hope that one day you'll understand why I kept it a secret." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you Sammy baby."

The ex-Jersey cop walked over to his cousin and enveloped her in his arms. "I hate to leave you like this."

"I'll be fine Danny. Gracie's waiting for you to see the dolphins. I can manage with this bum arm."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it, babe."

Ali pulled him into another hug. "I'm going to be okay Danno. Everything is going to be alright, I can feel it."

"I love you sailor." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Detective." She whispered back.

He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before turning around and gathering his bags. Danny shook hands with Ryan, and glanced one last time towards his niece before heading towards the door.

"Wait, Uncle Danny!"

Daniel turned around and was immediately engulfed in the arms of his niece, hugging him tight. The detective returned the gesture, and squeezed her tightly. He loved Sam like she was his own and it was going to kill him if Samantha never forgave him.

"I love you Uncle Danny and I'm going to miss you. Although I don't entirely forgive you just yet I understand why you did what you did."

"Thank you baby." They pulled apart and Williams gently bracketed her face. "Promise me that you'll listen to what your mother has to say. You have to listen with an open heart and an open mind, ok? Promise me?"

Sam shook her head vigorously. "I'm going to try Uncle Danny but, I don't know if I can."

"Just promise me."

"I promise."

"Ok." He said placing a kiss on her cheek. "I have to get going before I miss my flight."

With one last goodbye Danny grabbed his bags and headed out the door. Now it was just the three of them left alone in the foyer. Allison reached out once more for her daughter but she once again pulled away and walked into to the living room to sit on the couch. Ali let out a sigh and turned to give Ryan a solemn look. Ry placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. She took in a deep breath and went into the living room behind the teen.

They all sat down awkwardly and just sat there staring at each other in uncomfortable silence. Allison finally spoke up and broke through the hush atmosphere.

"Sam, I know that there is no explanation valid enough to excuse me for lying to you but, I want you to know why I did it."

Samantha didn't respond. She just continued to sit there, knees drawn up to her chest, staring absentmindedly into space. Ali wasn't sure if she was listening but, she was going to say what she needed to say.

"When I was your age I came here to Miami on vacation with your grandparents and Aunt Abby. It was on that trip that I met your father." She stopped for a moment and glanced over at Ryan. "I fell instantly in love with him." Allison continued to tell her daughter of how her and Ryan met. Sam listened attentively to each word, even if it seemed like she wasn't.

"So when Abs returned with the letter and said that he hadn't showed I thought that all he was looking for was to sleep with me. So, seeing that he got what he wanted I automatically thought that he had left me."

Sam turned red tearing eyes at her father. "Is it true? Did you get what you wanted and then just left?"

Ryan was about to answer when someone entered the room and answered for him. "No, he was there." Everyone turned their attention to where Abby was standing in the entry way to the living room. "Your grandmother took the letter away from me and threatened me with sending me away if I went to Ryan and told him what was happening. I made your mother believe that your father had never showed. Sam, I'm so sorry."

Abby went to put her hand on her nieces shoulder but she moved abruptly away, getting up on her feet. She looked at her Aunt in disbelief. "You deprived me of having a family? Of having a father?"

"Sam, I'm sorry but I had no choice. Mom was going to send me away. She wasn't going to let me see dad or Allison. Your grandmother was dead set on separating Allison from Ryan that she would have done anything to get it. Please don't hate me Sam."

The teen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Now she knew why her grandma had hated her so much. All those years she kept wondering why she would push her away and make her feel like she wasn't loved. She was the daughter of a man she detested more than anything.

"Why didn't you ever say anything Aunt Abby? Why didn't say something after grandma died?"

"Because I was afraid. I was afraid that you and your mother would hate me and not want anything to do with me? I know I can't say it enough but I'm so sorry Sam. I never meant to hurt you, your mother, or Ryan. I know now that I should have said something."

Samantha wiped angrily at the tears falling down her cheeks. "For years I thought that I had done something wrong to cause grandma to not love me. I never knew why she never gave me a kiss, a hug, or why she never told me that she loved me. I tried so hard to please her but, nothing that I did was enough. Now I understand that she never did love me. The only people I felt that loved me was grams, grandpa, Uncle Danny, and mom. I thought you loved me to Aunt Abby, but clearly you didn't."

"I do love you Sammy."

"No, no you don't and don't call me that. You don't get to call me that anymore."

Ryan stood and put his hands on Sam's shoulders. "Sam you need to calm down and listen to what your Aunt is telling you. You have to understand her, she was afraid of losing everything she had. Abigail never did any of this to harm you."

"Everyone has been lying to me since the day I was born. How can you expect me to just understand and forgive? Yes, I understand why she kept quiet the first few years but I will never understand why she never said anything before. And I understand mom why you were angry with dad and that you didn't want to have anything to do with him but, what I don't understand is why you lied to me and told me he was dead. Why not just tell me what you thought was the truth? It would have been my decision if I wanted to find him or not but instead you hid yourself away in the Navy to forget about everything and now I'm beginning to think that you were trying to forget about me because I reminded you of him."

The teen took in a shaky breath. "I don't know if I can trust any of you anymore." She turned to look at her mom. "I feel a little less angry at you and knowing the whole story has made it a little easier to try and forgive you, but it's going to take time." She then turned to her Aunt. "To be honest I don't know I could ever forgive you. With your silence you created a whole world of mess and it's going to take whole lot for you to clean it up."

With that she pushed past Ryan and ran up the stairs to her room. Allison took a step forward to try and stop her but Wolfe held her back. "I think it's best to just let her be for a little while." Allison knew he was right and all she could do was wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his chest, letting his t-shirt soak up her tears.

"I'm sorry." Abby said, for what felt like the 100th time in the past two days. It was all she could say to try and profess how she felt about the whole situation and that she understood that she did wrong by keeping quiet.

Ali unwrapped herself from Ryan's embrace to turn and look at her sister. She could see the genuine hurt and regret in the tear stained face. "I know you are Abs but it's like Sam said, this has created a whole world of mess and it's going to take time to clean it all up and put the pieces back together."

"I understand. I just hope that one day you and Sam can forgive me. I'm going to go pack my things and try to get on the next flight back to Jersey."

"Abs you don't have to go." Ali pleaded.

"Yeah I do, part of the way that I'm going to fix this is to give you two some time and I think that it would be better if I went back home." With that she turned on her heal and walked back to the guest room.

Allison let out a frustrated sigh and dropped herself on the couch, burying her face in her hand and resting her elbow on her knees. "This has all become such a huge mess."

Wolfe kneeled down beside her, placing a gentle hand on her back. "Everything is going to be ok. This is all going to work out and all the pieces are going to come together, you'll see."

Ali lifted her face from her hand and looked into the beautiful green eyes that she had missed so much. She raised her hand and slowly traced her fingers along the side of Ryan's face. "You're always such an optimist, aren't you?"

"Being an optimist has gotten me where I am today." He said as he gently took her hand in his. "She really is sorry you know."

"I know she is Ry but she should have said something. What if I would have never transferred to the reserves and taken the job at the lab? What if our lives never would have crossed paths again? Would she have never said anything? Would she have kept quite?"

"Would you?"

Allison looked at her co-worker quizzically. "I don't understand."

"Would you have kept telling Sam that I was dead if we wouldn't have met again or would you have told her the truth someday?"

The Navy Junior Lieutenant looked down at her hands, waiting a couple of beats before answering. "I don't know. I suppose I would have kept telling her you were dead."

"You see? The blame goes both ways. You kept quiet because of hurt and because you thought I had betrayed you. She kept quiet because she was afraid. She was scared that she was going to lose the only good thing she had in this world. Not only one person is to blame for all of this. We've all put a grain of sand into this problem."

The CSI looked up once again at the handsome features of the man she loved, tears flowing freely down her delicate face. She ran her hand down the side of his face once more and cupped his cheek. "She's right you know, Sam?"

"Right about what?" Wolfe asked, taking a seat next to her.

"I did bury myself into the Navy to forget about everything. I thought maybe if I was away on missions I could forget about how messed up my life had become. I enlisted in the Navy to get away from my mother, from my sister who was beginning to become more like our mother each day, and it pains me to say this but I also did it to distance myself from Samantha."

"Why would you want to do something like that?"

"Because every day she reminded me of you, of your supposed betrayal. I thought that by running off to the Navy it would help me forget about you but the truth is that I couldn't. There was not a single day that went by that I did not think of you. And all those days helped me fuel my anger towards you. I assumed that if you didn't want anything to do with me then you wouldn't want anything do with your daughter. I figured that you didn't deserve her and you didn't deserve for her to love you, but I didn't want to paint a bad picture of you to her either." Ali took in a shaky breath. "But it didn't fix anything, she still loved you and kept asking about you. My heart is still frayed and I'm still in the same million pieces I was 16 years ago."

Ryan angled his body towards hers and placed a hand over her entwined ones. With his free hand he cupped the side of her face and with his thumb he wiped away the tears from one eye and with the back of the same hand wiped away the tears of the other. He raked his fingers lightly through her hair, finally cupping her cheek once again. "I'm here now, Ali. You can give me all those pieces and I promise you that I will put them back together. I want to put those pieces together to build a family with you and Sam. I love you Allison and I want to make you whole again. I want to make us whole again."

Ali set her hand upon his on her face. "You have Molly." Ryan was going to interrupt but was interrupted himself when Abigail walked back into the room with her suitcase in hand. Both CSIs stood from the couch and faced her.

"I managed to get on the next flight that leaves in 3 hours so I should get going so I don't miss it." Abs said.

"Abby," Ali tried.

"It's ok, Ali." Abs broke in. "This is for the best."

The elder sister rounded the couch and enveloped the other in her arms. "I'm so sorry Abby." She sobbed. "I love you, always remember that."

"I love you too, big sister."

They broke apart and Abby placed a kiss on her sister's cheek. "I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you with a broken arm but, I have a feeling that you'll have all the help you need." She finished as she glanced over to Ryan.

The CSI blushed and looked away. Abigail circled the couch to stand in front of Ryan. "I hope that you can forgive me one day. You had the most to lose in all this."

"I understand why you kept quiet and there is nothing for me to forgive. I did miss out on seeing my little girl grow up but now that I have her I'm going to do all that I can to make up for all those lost years."

"Thank you Ryan."

Ryan pulled her into a tight hug. "Here let me help you with your bag."

Both CSIs walked Abigail to her car and watched her drive away. "I'll miss her."

"You'll see her again soon. I guarantee it."

"I hope so."

After a couple of seconds of silence Allison spoke up. "You should get going to."

Ryan looked at her with a shocked expression. "I thought that-"

"Ry, we'll have time to talk later. Right now I just want to have some time to myself and digest everything that just happened and maybe, hopefully, I can get Sam to talk to me a bit."

Reluctantly Ryan agreed. "Ok, I understand. But just remember what I said."

With a soft kiss to her cheek Wolfe got into his car and drove home. Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Allison raked a hand through her hair and headed back inside her home, all the while Ryan's words running through her head.


	18. Pieces Fitting Back Together

_I really hate to let this moment go. Touching your skin, and your hair falling slow. When a goodbye kiss, feels like this. Don't you wanna stay here a little while? Don't you wanna hold each other tight? Don't you wanna fall asleep with me tonight? Don't you wanna stay here a little while? We can make forever feel this way. Don't you wanna stay? Let's take it slow, I don't wanna move too fast. I don't wanna just make love, I wanna make love last. When you're up this high, it's a sad goodbye._

_**~Don't You Wanna Stay-Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean**_

Allison awkwardly carried a box filled with photos up to the brim as best as she could with her good arm, letting them plop loudly onto the couch once she reached it. She carefully took the lid off and started to skim through the pictures. The Junior Lieutenant smiled softly as she came across a photograph of her and Sam hugging and smiling brightly at the camera. She would give anything to go back to that day and forget any of the events that happened the past couple of days even existed. As she was looking at some photos she could hear the soft hesitant steps behind her coming down the stairs. The footsteps came to a stop just to the side of her.

"Um, Linda called and wanted to know if I could sleep over her house tonight so we can work on the project that's due next week." Sam spat out in one breath.

Nonchalantly, Allison turned her head up to look at her daughter. "Sure, just call me when you get there." The CSI figured she was going to stop pressuring and begging her daughter to talk to her or have a conversation with her, she was going to come around on her own time. "Just remember to charge your cell, you keep letting your phone run out of juice and then when you need it you can't use it."

"Yeah, I will." Sam responded courtly. She didn't know how to take this sudden change in attitude in her mother. One day she was hovering all over her and the next it seemed like she didn't care if she forgave her.

"Ok, have fun."

Allison went back to looking through the photos like they hadn't spoken at all. The teen nodded and turned to go back upstairs until she caught sight at the photos that her mother was looking at, they were all of her when she was little.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I was just gathering some pictures of you that I can take to your dad. I know it won't make up for not seeing you grow up but I figured that showing him some pictures might help."

Ali continued on looking through the pictures thinking that the young teen would just go back upstairs, only she noticed that she lingered at her side. She slowly looked up at her daughter who was furring her eyebrows at her.

"What?" She asked.

"You'd do that for him?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I, I- I don't know."

"He missed out on a lot and it was partially my fault that happened. I wanted to give some of that back to him."

Sam rounded the couch and came to take a seat next to her mother on the couch. Now it was Allison's turn to look confused.

"Can I help you?" Sam asked attentively.

The Naval officer felt the hope flutter in her chest when she heard the words that her daughter spoke and the soft look gracing her face. Ali gave her a warm smile, one that was returned in kind.

"Sure." She replied softly, a lump forming in her throat.

They sat there nearly an hour going through one picture at a time, reliving all the memories of each one. It felt as if Sam was never mad at her or that this cluster of a mess had ever happened. The happiness was cut short when Sam had to go and pack an overnight bag because her friend would be there soon to pick her up. They both gave each other a smile before Sam walked out the door but, Ali's did not falter. She kept on smiling as she cleaned up the pictures and trying to simultaneously dial a number on her cell.

"Detective Williams."

"She finally talked to me Danny!"

"That's great babe, I'm happy for you."

It was then that Allison heard the tension in her cousin's voice. "Danny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong honey. I'm fine."

She was about to respond when the sound of another voice interrupted her. _"Alright Detective. The bullet just grazed you but it was deep. I'll patch you up, but I'll have to take you in for stitches."_

"Bullet graze? Danny-"

"I'm fine babe. It's nothing."

"It's nothing? You got shot Danno! How is that nothing?"

Ali heard Danny hiss through the phone as the EMT was probably trying to do as he said and patch him up before taking him to the emergency room. "Oh, easy man."

"What the hell happened?"

"Oh you know the usual. Commander McCrazypants thinks that it's ok going into an armed suspects home without waiting for backup, he thinks that I'm his backup. And I being the Officer that I am and being his partner could not let him go in there alone."

"Is he delusional going into places without backup?"

"Oh yeah, he's certifiable."

_"Hey brah, boss wants to know if you have to go to the hospital?" _ Allison heard a female voice say.

"What does he think? Of course I have to go to the hospital! I got shot, Kono! I got shot because your certifiable boss had us go into a moron's house, whose trigger happy, without backup! Yes! I have to go to the hospital."

"_Geez, don't shot the messenger Danny." _

"Danny apologize to her right now. She's not at fault for what happened."

She heard her cousin sigh dramatically into the phone. "Of course, I'm sorry Kono. I'm just in a lot of pain and I didn't mean to take it out on you."

_"It's alright, I understand. Boss says he's leaving in 5 minutes with or without you."_

"He can't leave me! That is my car! He cannot leave me in my car!"

"Danny let me talk to your boss." Allison demanded.

"No! You will not talk to my boss. What are you my mother? You going to go talk to Governor and tell her to make him stop being a bully?"

"Danny if you don't let me talk to him I will just find out his number on my own and you know I will. I was in Naval Intelligence Danny, remember?"

"I don't care if you worked with the Pope. And I don't care if you think you can get his number, it's probably classified anyways."

"_Who's he talking to?" _She heard a male voice ask in the background. The voice sounded oddly familiar to her. Her curiosity rose and now more than ever she wanted to talk to this man.

_"Don't know but, I think he or she wants to talk to you." _ Kono said.

"It's my cousin." Danny answered.

_"I'll talk to her. Give me the phone."_

"No! You'll probably brain wash her into thinking you're this big bad Army Ranger and that going in without backup is completely ok. Because it's not! Nowhere in this country is that ok."

Allison heard a growl. _"It's the Navy Danno. The Navy. And I'm a SEAL."_

"Just give him the phone Danny." Allison ordered.

"Nope! Sorry, no can do babe. Hey listen I think the signal is getting pretty crappy I've gotta go. You know I'm bleeding out here and all. I've got to go get those stitches."

"Do not hang up on me Williams."

"Sorry, what was that? Can't hear you."

"Danny-"

"Gotta go babe. Love ya!"

Allison's protest was cut short when the line went dead. She was about to dial back when there was a faint honk coming from the drive way. Allison hastily grabbed her bag and the photos that she had set aside and walked out of the house. Locking the door behind her she quickly walked down to the driveway and into the car that was awaiting her.

"Hey Talia, thanks for giving me a ride."

"No problem. I have to go get some errands done that way anyways."

Natalia backed out carefully from the driveway before they headed out down the road. "So how's the arm?"

"It's fine. It's still hurts every once in awhile though."

"I'm sure it does. You took quite a bit of a tumble in that car. I'm surprised that you didn't come out more mangled than you did."

"Yeah, I'm just lucky to be alive."

"We're all happy that you're ok. And I'm pretty sure that Ryan is delighted that you're doing better to."

Allison could feel the heat rise up to her cheeks as her friend gave her a cheeky smile. She guessed that hers and Ryan's past relationship was not a secret anymore. The whole lab must know by now.

"Yeah I'm sure he is."

"I still can't believe that you and him have a teenage daughter. He's probably freaking out."

"Ha, I think him freaking out is an understatement. I think that he still doesn't know what to do with her."

"You'll figure it out together, though. You and him make a great couple."

The CSI let out a sigh. "Unfortunately we can't be together."

"What are you talking about? I thought that you guys had already gotten back together." Natalia asked confused.

"Natalia you know that we can't do that. He's engaged to Molly."

Her co-worker turned and glanced at her in confusion. "He hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Molly called the wedding off. They're no longer engaged."

Allison felt like the world had suddenly slipped out from under her. "What? You can't be serious!"

The Naval Officer couldn't believe what she was hearing. The wedding was off. On one hand she should be happy that Ryan wasn't getting married but on the other hand she was feeling guilty because she knew that in some way she was responsible for the cancelation of the marriage.

"Ali calm down. I thought that you'd be glad that the wedding was cancelled."

"What!?" Allison asked exasperated. "No! How could you think that?"

"Well it's obvious that you're still in love with Ryan." Natalia responded, nonchalantly.

"But that doesn't mean that I would want them to call off the wedding, let alone be happy about it. "

Natalia just looked over at her flabbergasted colleague and just smirked at her. She felt slightly bad at silently laughing at her friend when it was clear that she was not taking the news well.

Allison looked over at her co-worker who from the looks of it was having fun at her expense. "What the hell is so funny?"

"Oh nothing, I just find it highly amusing that you didn't deny that you're still in love with him." Natalia said matter of fact.

The CSI let out a sigh of resignation. "No, I can't deny it because it's true. I am still in love with him. I've never once stopped loving him.

Boa Vista gave her a warm smile. "I don't think that he's ever stopped loving you either. Molly finally came to realize that he was never going to love her the way she loves him."

"I feel so awful about this."

"I know you do Ali but, you have to understand that, that relationship was meant to fail even if you would have come back into his life or not. And I know that it sounds harsh but, it's the truth. So there is no reason for you to feel bad about being in love with him." Natalia took a pause. "And I really think that you and him should give it another try."

The Naval Officer turned and gave her co-worker a skeptical look. She would want more than anything to get back together with Ryan. Ever since she found out that she was pregnant she would always dream about forming a family with him. It would be just her, Sam, and Ryan.

"I would really want that." She said honestly.

"Then you should fight for it." Talia said simply.

Allison still looked at her hesitantly. She turned to look out the window for a few seconds then turned to look back at her friend and smiled at her.

"I think I will."

Natalia smiled back at her. All of a sudden she felt a little more nervous about going to Ryan's house. He had said to her a few days ago that he loved her but, she still wasn't sure if he would take her back. She would find out soon.

CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI-CSI

Meanwhile Ryan had just finished tidying up his home and decided to sit down and call his old friend that Alice had run into while she was in Hawaii.

"McGarrett."

"So the Infamous SEAL makes his great return."

There was a loud hearty chuckle at the other end of the line. "It's the Big Bad Wolfe. How's it going brah?"

"It's going good man. It's good to hear from you."

"It's good to hear from you too. It was good to see your sister too. I didn't get a chance to talk to her much because I was on a case but, she still has that sassy attitude I see."

Ryan laughed. "She sure does. I think it got worse with age."

"Tell me about it. Mare is uncontrollable sometimes but, enough of our bratty siblings, how's life been treating you?"

Ryan told the Commander about everything that had happened to him since the last time he talked with him. He told him about getting the job at CSI and about the sudden death about his parents. Steve felt like he had to grieve the loss of another set of parents, because that's what he felt Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe were to him, his parents. The Lieutenant Commander in turn told him about what brought him back to Hawaii, Ryan couldn't even imagine what it would be like to hear a loved one get murdered over the phone. He knew that McGarrett was blaming himself for his father's death and there was nothing that he could say or do to make him think otherwise.

"Enough of sad stories, let's talk about something happy." The Commander suggested.

"Ok well, I have a teenage daughter." The CSI admitted.

"A what? How did that happen?"

"Oh come on McGarrett. You're a smart guy. You know what has to happen for someone to have children." Ryan replied mockingly.

"I know smartass. What I meant was how did you find out about this? You would have had to have been sixteen when you had her and when I meant you, you didn't have a daughter."

Wolfe recounted the events of the past few days and the background story that went along with it. Steve couldn't believe the twist and turns of fate that brought Ryan's daughter to him.

"You know Wolfe, you never told me the name of this woman that has you tripping over your feet."

"I didn't did I? Well,-" Ryan was suddenly interrupted by his door bell going off. "Hang on Steve, someone's at my door."

Wolfe quickly made his way to the front of his house and looked through the small window on his door. His heart started to beat ten times faster when he saw who was standing on the other side.

"Um Steve, I have to go because she's here."

McGarrett chuckled at the enthusiasm that he heard in his friend's voice. "Alright, go get'em tiger."

Ryan snorted before the bid each other farewell. He quickly hung up and threw the phone on the sofa and swung the door open. The moment that their eyes met neither of them could help the smile that spread across their faces.

"Hey." Allison greeted.

"Hey." Ryan greeted back.

"I hope that you don't mind me dropping by. There was some things that I wanted to show you."

"No of course not. Come in."

Cahill turned and waved at her friend before entering the house. Ryan quietly closed the door behind him and guided Allison to sit on the sofa. He offered her something to drink before he sat down.

"So what did you want to show me?"

"I brought over some pictures of Sam that I thought that you might like to see. I know that this won't replace the fact that you didn't see her grow up but, maybe seeing some pictures of her could help heal the wound."

Ryan felt his chest warm up at the sweet gesture that Allison was bestowing upon him. He smiled warmly at her. "Of course I would love to see pictures of her"

Allison smiled back at him and opened the box that she had brought with her. She took out the first photograph and handed it to him. "This is the first picture that I took of her. She was only a day old."

"Wow, she was so small." He said as he ran a finger delicately down the photo.

"She was. I almost didn't have her though. The umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck and the doctors were having a difficult time taking it off. Her oxygen levels were decreasing rapidly and when they finally got her out she wasn't breathing. I thought I had lost her Ry." Allison said as her voice started to break. " But after what seemed like an eternity to me of them doing CPR on her they finally got her breathing."

Ryan took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm so sorry. I can only imagine what you went through. What you must have felt thinking that she was going to die."

"If I would have lost her Ry, I would have gone with her. I wouldn't have been able to live without her."

"But thank God you didn't lose her and that he brought you and her back to me."

"Yeah, after everything that I had gone through with my mother, she was the only thing good that was in my life."

Allison let go of Ryan's hand and dug out another photo from the box and handed it to him. "That was on her first birthday. It was then that I saw that she was starting to look like you."

Ryan smiled down at the picture. In it 1 year old Samantha was smiling up at the camera, icing smeared all over her face. She was right, you could similar features of himself in her.

"You know, I remember you telling me how important your mother was to you, that's why I named her Samantha. I named her after your mother."

The CSI turned abruptly to look at his co-worker, a small tear betraying him and falling down his cheek. "Thank you, that was really nice of you. To know that, it feels like I have a small piece of my mother back, like she's not entirely gone. Thank you."

Finding out that Ryan's mother had passed away was like a punch in the gut to Allison. She never got to meet them but, Ryan always spoke so highly about them. In her heart she knew that they were good people.

"I know that they would have loved Sam." Ali said. "They probably would have spoiled her rotten."

"No, she wouldn't have been spoiled rotten. She would have been the next step up from spoiled rotten, if there was such a thing. Mom always wanted grandkids. She was always badgering me on when I was going to get married and give her one."

"I'm so sorry Ryan."

They both smiled at each other before Ali took out another picture to hand to Ryan. "This is Sam on her first day of pre-school." Ali said, handing Ryan the photo of Sam beaming at the camera and showing off her new princess backpack. "Aunt Mags took this one because I couldn't be there. Unfortunately I was in a different part of the world at that time." The CSI finished solemnly. "I tried really hard for the Navy to grant me leave but they didn't. I think that Sam hated me little bit for it."

"I'm sure that as she grew older she understood that you were doing your job and that you were fulfilling your duty as a Naval Officer."

"She may have started to understand and she may understand now that it was my job but, it doesn't change the fact that I missed out on major parts of her life. Parts that me, as her mother, I should have been there for. I also had a duty as being a mother, and I failed."

Lifting his hand, Ryan gently cupped Allison's face. "You didn't fail. Sam is a beautiful, intelligent, and strong young lady. You had a part in that."

"Yeah and I have Aunt Mags, Grams, my dad, and Danno to thank also for helping me raise her. If I wouldn't have had them I don't think I could have done it on my own."

"You guys did a fantastic job."

Ryan placed a soft kiss on her forehead and scooted closer to Allison as she continued to take out photos from the box and telling him the story that went along with them. They spent hours and hours that way, talking, laughing, and crying. Divulging to each other their stories of what had happened to them in those sixteen long years without each other. They simply lost track of time until a loud clap of thunder startled the pair.

"Jesus!" Exclaimed Allison, as she literally jumped off the sofa.

"When the hell did it start raining?" Ryan asked.

"I have no idea. A better question is, what time is it?" Allison questioned, looking around for a clock.

"It's a quarter till 7."

"Oh my god it's so late. I'd better get going."

"No, listen, why don't you stay? I could cook us something to eat."

"Ry, I really should go."

"Come on Ali. It's like a hurricane out there right now. It's not safe to be out there. You can stay in Al's room. She's having a girls night with her friends and isn't coming home tonight."

Ali hesitated for a couple of minutes before she decided that indeed it was better if she stayed. "Alright, but the food better be good."

Ryan chuckled as he started to head to the kitchen. Allison finished packing up the pictures and tried lifting up the box with her good arm but failed. The box fell on the floor, scattering the photographs all over the floor.

"Shoot." She said as she sat back down on the couch, with a sigh of resignation.

"Here let me help you."

Wolfe helped her pickup the strewn photos from the floor and placed them back into the box. He closed the lid and set the box on the coffee table and then sat back down beside Allison on the couch. He turned to look at her and met her eyes. He loved this woman more than anything and he was going to do whatever it took to get her back.

He softly tucked a stray hair behind her ear and lightly caressed the side of her face. The officer leaned forward making his intentions clear, allowing for Allison to back away if she wished but, she showed no signs of not wanting the same thing. Ryan finally filled the gap between them and captured her lips in a sweet delicate kiss. It was a tender caress of lips almost hesitant. Ryan didn't want to push it and tried not to deepen the kiss. The need for air was beginning to became too much and they pulled apart a few seconds later.

"I meant it when I said that I never stopped loving you. There was not a single day that passed that I didn't think of you. I want you back with me. I want to form a family with you and Sam."

Ali tenderly stroked the side of his face with her fingers. "I never stopped loving you either. No matter how many times I begged myself to hate you I just couldn't, my heart was broken but it kept beating for you. I would love more than anything for us to form a family with our daughter but, I can't hurt other people in the process."

"If you're talking about Molly, her and I called off the wedding."

"I know but, I can't help but feel awful and guilty about it. Molly is a good woman and I don't want to hurt her."

"Baby listen to me," Ryan started. "There is nothing for you to feel guilty about. I never loved Molly and she knew it. She tried so hard for me to love for but, I couldn't and she knew that. She finally realized that the only woman that I could ever love was you. Please Ali, I'm begging you to take me back."

Allison looked into the eyes of the man she loved and found nothing but love in them, love for her. She pulled him into another gentle chaste kiss. "I want us to take this slow. I want to make this last this time. We have to make up for many years but we have the rest of our lives to do that. We have to fall in love all over again because we're not the same people we were 16 years ago."

Ryan pressed his forehead to hers. "I will do anything you asked me to. Anything, as long as it means that I have you back."

"Ok." Allison responded. "We can make this work."

He gave her another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They spent hours cuddling and stealing kisses on the couch, forgetting about dinner and forgetting about the universe . The end of the world could have happen in front of them and they wouldn't even have know it or even cared. All that mattered at that moment was each other and that they were together.


	19. Lingering Guilt

**A/N: **Sorry this is so late. I hope that people are still interesting in reading. I've been in and out of the hospital these past few months, having it be myself or a family member. Finally had some time to sit down and finish writing this chapter. Took me awhile to edit it. Thanks everyone who's still sticking with it.

"_Sometimes I just want to paint the words "It's my fault" across my forehead to save people the time of being pissed off at me."__  
><em>_ ―__Christina Westover_

"_I get up and pace the room, as if I can leave my guilt behind me. But it tracks me as I walk, an ugly shadow made by myself."__  
><em>_ ―__Rosamund Lupton__,__Sister_

_"I can see every tear you've cried, like an ocean in your eyes. All the pain and the scars have left you cold. I can see all the fears you face through a storm that never goes away. Don't believe all the lies that you've been told. I'll be right here now to hold you when the sky falls down. I will always be the one who took your place when the rain falls. I won't let go. I'll be right here. I will show you the way back home, never leave you all alone. I will stay until the morning comes I'll show you how to live again and heal the brokenness within. Let me love you when you come undone."_

_ -Ashes Remain, Right Here._

**Chapter 19: Lingering Guilt**

Ryan woke with a start when an insistent peeping pierced through his ears. With sleep still invading his eyes he found himself weighed down as he attempted to roll over to grab the phone off the coffee table. A huge smile spread across his face as he found Allison neatly tucked into his side, right where she belonged. He and Allison had made it to the kitchen, made dinner together, then made their way to the dining room, where they had a pleasant conversation while eating. They finally made it back to the living room where they continued to talk until they fell asleep, cuddled up on the couch.

Allison began to stir as the ringing from the cell started up again. Ryan coaxed her back to sleep as he reached his hand out to grab the phone without completely waking her. With some extensive maneuvering he finally managed to get the annoying piece of electronic.

"Wolfe." The CSI answered.

"Hey papa Wolfe. Where are you?" Came the too cheerful voice of his co-worker.

"At home. Why?"

"Why? Oh I don't know, maybe because you should have been at work well over an hour ago, that's why." The Cuban sarcastically answered.

Ryan quickly looked at his watch and noticed that, yes, indeed he was late. "Shit!" he muttered, almost jolting up from the sofa only remembering that Allison was sprawled on top of him.

"Yes, exactly. H, told me to call you to see if you were ok and that IF you were ok that you needed to get your ass to work, we have a case."

"I don't think that H would say it exactly like that."

"No, not exactly." Delko replied. "I just tweaked it up a bit."

At that moment Allison once more began to stir on Ryan's chest. Her eyes fluttered open and quickly closed them again as an onslaught of light attacked her eyeballs, but not before she noticed Ryan on his phone.

"Who is it?" She muttered quietly.

"Who was that? Is that a woman?" Eric asked playfully. "Now I understand why you're late. I forgive you."

"Shut up!" Ryan demanded.

"Excuse me?" Allison asked.

"Not you Ali."

"Ali!?" Delko chimed in. "Wow that was quick. You don't waste any time, do you Wolfe?"

"Shut up, It's not like that."

"Wait till Calleigh hears about this."

"No, please don't tell her." Ryan pleaded.

"I'll text you the address to the crime scene. See you there lover boy." Delko responded playfully.

Wolfe let the phone slide down past his ear as he groaned out mournfully. "Those two are going to be the death of me." He said as he rubbed his face forcefully with his hands.

Allison had already pushed herself up and was seated at the edge of the couch looking down at Ryan with an amused smirk. "I take it you were talking with Delko?"

"Yeah. Apparently I am extremely late for work and we have a case." The CSI said as he lifted himself on one elbow.

"Oh God Ry, I'm so sorry."

Ryan cradled the side of her face with his hand. "No baby, it's not your fault. I lost track of time last night and I fell asleep down here nowhere near my alarm."

"Yeah but, "

"No buts, I would be late a million times if it meant that I would be spending my time with you." Ryan said with a sweet smile on his face. His heart started to race in his chest when she answered with a bright smile of her own. He fully sat up on the sofa and pulled her into a tender kiss.

After a few seconds Allison pulled apart from the kiss and pressed her forehead against his. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too. Now you better get moving before you're really late. Remember you still have to take me back home."

He gave her one more quick kiss before jumping off the couch and running up the stairs to take a quick shower. Ali sat on the couch for a couple of minutes more before she got up and went to the kitchen to start the coffee maker. After that was done she walked back to the living room and walked around little bit before walking past the mantle and noticing the photographs adorning it. A smile slipped across her face when she saw a picture of Ryan and his sister in a loving embrace. The next picture was of Ryan, Alice, and their parents. It was clearly taken when Ryan graduated the Academy, if the dress blues was anything to go by. She came upon the last picture, this one made her stomach churn. There, looking back at her were a jovial looking Ryan and Molly wrapped up in each other's arms. They looked so happy together, so full of love, but now, now they were separated and she couldn't help to still think that it was her fault.

The ringing coming from her pocket startled her from her thoughts. She quickly fished the phone out of her pockets and answered the call. "Cahill." She said automatically.

"Mom."

The Naval Officer cursed herself internally. She had completely forgotten about Samantha and how weird it would be if she got home and she wasn't there. How the hell was she going to explain that she never made it home. "Yes sweetheart?"

"Where are you? Are you still with dad?

"Yeah I am."

"Did you sleep there?"

Ali let out a deep sigh. "Yes I did."

"You do know that he's engaged right? And you slept with him?"

"Sammy it's not...I didn't..."

"Just forget it mom. I just called you to let you know that I was home."

Allison was going to respond but wasn't given the chance because Samantha had quickly ended the call. The CSI dejectedly put down her phone and rested her forehead on the edge of the mantel. Every time that things were beginning to get better she was always doing something to screw it up. She lifted her head and was met once more with the happy picture of the couple. Ali thought maybe she should just broadcast to the world how much of a screw up she was, to save everyone the time of telling her how she was the only one at fault of screwing up everyone's life up.

Allison started to pace around the room, a million things running through her head. Was Ryan telling her the truth? Was he really still in love with her? That she really didn't get between him and Molly? With every step she took she kept looking up at the mantel, the photograph starring her down, as if reminding her of what she had done. She paced the floor a couple of more times and decided to head back to kitchen and make Ryan a cup of coffee. Even while she was walking away she felt the weight of the picture on her back, like it was drilling holes into her retreating form.

Once inside the kitchen she tried to busy herself with making a cup of coffee. She stepped over to the refrigerator to take out the creamer when something on the fridge door caught her eye. It was the same picture that was on the mantel only on the bottom of this photo there was big black lettering informing everyone who received it to "Save the Date". Ali felt like it was suddenly hard to breathe, her chest tightening painfully. The wedding was supposed to be in four months. She never knew that it was going to take place so soon. That meant that everything was almost ready and now everything was going to go to waste, time and money wasted. With the creamer completely forgotten she walked back to where the coffee mug sat patiently waiting.

Allison didn't know how long she had been standing there starring into the dark liquid until she felt a hand at the small of her back, startling her out of her thoughts. She turned her head and was meant with the worried face of her partner.

"Ali?" Ryan asked, concern lacing his words.

"She thinks that you're still engaged." Was the Naval officer's response.

"Who?" Ryan asked. This was so confusing to him. Not even fifteen minutes earlier Allison was fine and happy, and now it seems as if she wasn't. It was like someone had completely crushed her hopes and dreams and she was back to feeling insecure about them getting back together. Looking into her eyes he could see all the pain and fear she was feeling, like they were scars that were deeply embedded into her soul. It was only then that he realized that her eyes didn't hold that spark they once held. It was replaced with a numbing stare that held no feeling what so ever. Ryan could see her barriers going back up and he didn't poses a single tool to break it down.

"Samantha." Allison answered flatly. "She thinks that you're still engaged and she probably thinks that I'm getting in-between you guys. I'm- Ryan, I'm so, so, sorry. I didn't mean to break you guys up. I'm sorry." The tears started flowing freely down her cheeks as she started to wipe them away violently.

The CSI stormed out of the kitchen and back to the living room to put on her shoes. Ryan kneeled down in front of her and cradled her face with his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Please don't do this. Don't push me away again. You're not breaking anything up, I promise you. We already went through this. Listen to me Ali, please don't leave me, I'm begging you. I'll talk to Sam."

The Naval Officer looked deep into the eyes of the only man that she has truly loved. It made her heart hurt at the desperation that she saw in the beautiful green orbs. She wanted to take it away but, the guilt that she felt was never going to allow her to do that.

"The wedding was supposed to be in four months Ryan, everything was set for you two to get married and I ruined it."

"No Ali-" Wolfe pleaded.

"Take me home, please. If you don't take me home I'll call a cab or I'll walk, either way I am going home."

Ryan visibly deflated, letting his hand slide down to his lap. "No, I'll take you home."

"Thank you." She responded quietly.

Ryan gathered his keys, ushered Ali outside, and they both got into the car. They road in silence all the way to her home. Once they were there Ali got out of the car and as she closed the door she looked through the window, her heart broke a little more when she saw the sadden green eyes staring back at her.

"You should go through with the wedding and forget about me."

With that she turned and walked up to her door without saying another word. Ryan wanted more than anything to follow her but all he could do was sit and watch the love of his life walk away from him once more.


End file.
